Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.2%

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.2% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $168.47 and last traded at $168.64. 15,167,415 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 60,150,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AAPL. UBS Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America raised Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a report on Thursday, January 18th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $203.05.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $173.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.94. The company has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 14.95%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cullinan Associates Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 784,520 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,318,000 after acquiring an additional 46,216 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.3% during the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 143,501 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $24,569,000 after purchasing an additional 5,981 shares during the last quarter. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.1% during the third quarter. Platte River Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 62,407 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $10,685,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Polaris Wealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 322,877 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $55,280,000 after buying an additional 140,750 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 19,813 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 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.