Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 1% – Should You Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $271.64 and last traded at $271.84. Approximately 49,259,957 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 54,634,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $274.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price target on Apple from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wedbush set a $350.00 price objective on Apple and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Phillip Securities downgraded Apple from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating and set a $330.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.92.

Apple Stock Down 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $268.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 164.05% and a net margin of 26.92%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. This trade represents a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,199 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.39, for a total transaction of $1,038,790.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 8,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,168,373.35. The trade was a 32.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588 over the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $31,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC grew its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% 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.