Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 0.8%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price traded down 0.8% on Monday . The company traded as low as $181.63 and last traded at $181.94. 27,973,332 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 61,634,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital cut their target price on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Up 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $172.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc. now owns 26,797 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,588,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 101.9% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 700,836 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $120,086,000 after acquiring an additional 353,801 shares during the period. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 8.1% during the third quarter. B.O.S.S. Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 78,010 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,356,000 after acquiring an additional 5,870 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,492 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,193,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. Finally, Nikulski Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Apple by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 77,990 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,353,000 after acquiring an additional 916 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.