Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Upgraded at Seaport Res Ptn

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was upgraded by investment analysts at Seaport Res Ptn to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on AAPL. Wedbush set a $310.00 price target on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $298.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI set a $290.00 target price on Apple and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.51.

Apple Stock Up 0.7%

AAPL stock opened at $257.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.82 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.38. Apple has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank lifted its position in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $533,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.9% during the first quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Red Tortoise LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in the second quarter. Red Tortoise LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 49 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.