Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $380.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective raised by Sanford C. Bernstein from $370.00 to $380.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. CICC Research upped their price objective on Apple from $310.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Moffett Nathanson set a $283.00 price target on Apple and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. China Renaissance lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $329.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.74.

Apple Stock Performance

Apple stock opened at $342.37 on Wednesday. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $243.42 and a fifty-two week high of $355.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $336.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $298.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.00 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.07.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $113.40 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 128.88% and a net margin of 27.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Apple will post 9.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO John Ternus sold 25,412 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $332.94, for a total value of $8,460,671.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,832,236.98. This represents a 29.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.40, for a total transaction of $442,112.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 38,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,224,675.20. The trade was a 3.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cornerstone Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 154,374 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $51,410,000 after purchasing an additional 39,931 shares during the period. Shah Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Apple by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Shah Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 23,079 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,315 shares during the period. Wellington Grp LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 23,948 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,975,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.3% in the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 6,063 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Bernicke Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,285,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, with solid iPhone and Mac demand. Apple also says more apps optimized for its new foldable iPhone are coming, potentially improving the product’s appeal. Apple earnings beat
• Positive Sentiment: Apple has held up better than many chipmakers amid the AI-stock sell-off, and Bernstein raised its price target to $380 while maintaining a Buy rating. This relative strength may support investor sentiment. Apple holds up amid market weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking about $7.5 billion through a bond offering. The financing provides flexibility, though the reports do not specify its use. The company is also limiting some employees’ AI-tool budgets, a move that could help control costs but raises questions about its internal AI investment. Apple bond sale report
• Negative Sentiment: Management warned of unprecedented memory-chip costs and supply constraints heading into the holiday quarter, putting gross margins at risk despite healthy demand. Investors are also weighing slower Services growth and Apple’s premium valuation. Memory costs and supply constraints

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS.

The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world.

Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.