Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 2.9% – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price shot up 2.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $310.94 and last traded at $315.2030. 48,774,310 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 8% from the average session volume of 45,068,552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $306.31.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts reiterated bullish views on Apple ahead of WWDC, including Goldman Sachs keeping a Buy rating with a $340 target and Evercore ISI lifting its target to $365, citing Apple’s AI roadmap, ecosystem strength, and services growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Investor expectations remain high that Apple will unveil major AI updates at WWDC, especially a rebuilt Siri and deeper Apple Intelligence features, which could extend the stock’s recent rally. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports suggest Apple may expand its ecosystem with a native bill-splitting/payment feature in iOS, which could deepen user engagement and strengthen its services revenue stream. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary around Apple’s stock has been upbeat, with articles highlighting outperformance versus the S&P 500 and strong demand for iPhones and Macs ahead of the conference. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS said not to expect fireworks from WWDC and kept a Neutral rating, suggesting the event may not deliver a near-term stock catalyst if announcements disappoint. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s recent gains and all-time high have also prompted valuation concerns, with some analysts and commentators warning the shares may already price in a lot of good news. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Apple agreed to submit India business financials in an antitrust case, keeping regulatory risk in focus and raising the possibility of penalties. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive headlines from Nvidia, Walmart, and others show mounting pressure on parts of Apple’s ecosystem, including PCs and payments, which could weigh on sentiment if rivals gain traction. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $268.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.82.

Apple Stock Down 1.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $279.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $270.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.09.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,226,770. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Overbrook Management Corp increased its position in Apple by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. Overbrook Management Corp now owns 104,648 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $28,449,000 after purchasing an additional 38,174 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,426,605 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $363,256,000 after purchasing an additional 465,393 shares in the last quarter. Tufton Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Apple by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 100,130 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,496,000 after purchasing an additional 4,157 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,178,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Apple by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 7,044,697 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,915,172,000 after buying an additional 214,215 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.