Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $215.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target lifted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $200.00 to $215.00 in a report published on Saturday, Stock Target Advisor reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $196.00 target price (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Apple Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $181.71 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $172.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $181.72. 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 has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $199.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, 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 ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is 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.