DZ Bank Reaffirms Hold Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at DZ Bank in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $180.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock. DZ Bank’s target price suggests a potential upside of 3.86% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AAPL. Redburn Partners downgraded Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “neutral” rating and set a $189.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.53.

Apple Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $173.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $181.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Apple has a 12 month low of $155.98 and a 12 month high of $199.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its position in Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.