Rosenblatt Securities Increases Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $241.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price increased by Rosenblatt Securities from $223.00 to $241.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on AAPL. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Apple from $230.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $240.00 price objective on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective (up from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.80.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $234.07 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.47 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $221.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $212.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Apple has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.43 by $0.14. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.78%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total transaction of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after acquiring an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after purchasing an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Apple by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.