Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 1.4%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were down 1.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $170.51 and last traded at $170.80. Approximately 19,347,322 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 61,185,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $173.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.53.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.66. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 16,252.3% in the first quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 6,949,659 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.