Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-five research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, twenty-two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $310.3143.

Several analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $308.33 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $271.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.16. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06. Apple has a 52 week low of $195.07 and a 52 week high of $311.82.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Apple will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total transaction of $7,661,010.70. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,426,283,914 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $387,749,545,000 after buying an additional 26,856,752 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 604,056,505 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $164,218,801,000 after buying an additional 6,555,392 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 358,032,517 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $97,031,587,000 after buying an additional 1,866,103 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Apple by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,483,035 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $62,659,118,000 after buying an additional 1,379,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,266,468,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Apple to $380 from $330 and kept a Buy rating, citing Apple’s positioning in the emerging “agentic AI” smartphone market and possible upside from a redesigned Siri and other AI-driven products. Apple seen as key beneficiary of emerging agentic AI smartphone market, BofA says
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary say Apple’s stock hit record highs as AI concerns faded and investors positioned for upcoming WWDC announcements, reinforcing the view that Apple could unlock a new growth cycle. Apple Stock Hits New Record Highs as AI Doubts Begin to Fade
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s services business remains a strong tailwind, with recent commentary highlighting record Services revenue and continued growth in ads, TV+, sports, and Maps-related monetization. Strong Content & Advertising Aids Apple’s Services: More Upside Ahead?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple shares reached a fresh record near $311.82, pushing its market value toward the $5 trillion mark and signaling strong momentum heading into WWDC. Apple (AAPL) Stock Surges Toward Historic $5 Trillion Valuation

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.