Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Earns Hold Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt cut their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on Apple from $197.00 to $173.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.02.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $201.45 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $200.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $223.92. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,400,790,809 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $311,157,662,000 after buying an additional 5,005,297 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,164,913 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $84,999,145,000 after purchasing an additional 6,307,413 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $46,868,648,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Apple by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 171,385,531 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,918,365,000 after buying an additional 20,079,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 104,706,358 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,220,566,000 after acquiring an additional 13,137,968 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Apple

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.