Zacks Research Brokers Boost Earnings Estimates for Apple

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Apple in a research note issued on Tuesday, October 21st. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the iPhone maker will post earnings of $2.25 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.24. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $7.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple’s FY2027 earnings at $8.03 EPS.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price target (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Loop Capital upgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.47.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $258.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.09. Apple has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $265.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $242.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $218.02. 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.64 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The business’s revenue 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.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capstone Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,537 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,174,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 18,011 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,695,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Beddow Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,597 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 10,609 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,701,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salus Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Salus Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total value of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. This represents a 32.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 259,121 shares of company stock valued at $65,358,981 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

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.