Apple’s (AAPL) Neutral Rating Reiterated at Rosenblatt Securities

Rosenblatt Securities reissued their neutral rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $303.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (down from $253.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Phillip Securities raised their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. China Renaissance downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $329.00 to $280.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $350.00 target price (up from $310.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $343.74.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $344.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.00 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $335.46 and a 200-day moving average of $298.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Apple has a one year low of $243.42 and a one year high of $355.38.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.11. Apple had a return on equity of 125.35% and a net margin of 27.60%. The firm had revenue of $114.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $113.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple will post 9.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 12th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 12th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.39%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,392 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.05, for a total transaction of $480,309.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,051,831.95. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.40, for a total transaction of $442,112.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 38,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,224,675.20. This trade represents a 3.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 291,651 shares of company stock worth $97,082,537 in the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.0% during the third quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,096 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,353,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. now owns 16,810 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,598,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 9,524 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,172,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Banyan Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $13,466,000. Finally, Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Apple by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Spectrum Planning & Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,259 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple beat fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue of $114.5 billion and solid iPhone and Mac demand. The results support the view that product demand remains healthy. Apple shares fell despite a double beat in Q4
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein raised its price target to $380 and kept a Buy rating, citing potential upside from Apple’s business prospects. Bernstein rating and price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple is reportedly seeking up to $7 billion through a bond offering. The borrowing adds financing flexibility, but the reports did not specify how proceeds would be used. Apple seeks about $7 billion from bond sale
• Negative Sentiment: Management flagged memory-chip costs that could keep rising, along with supply constraints ahead of the December quarter. These pressures may weigh on margins even as demand remains strong. Supply constraints and rising memory costs
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also scrutinizing earnings quality: tariff refunds boosted reported profit metrics, making the underlying results less straightforward to assess. Investors revisit Apple earnings quality
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and valuation concerns add to the headwinds. DZ Bank cut Apple to Sell, while coverage also points to slower Services growth and a premium share valuation. DZ Bank downgrades Apple

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its best-known products include the iPhone smartphone, Mac personal computers, iPad tablets, Apple Watch, AirPods and other accessories. The company also develops operating systems and applications that support its hardware ecosystem.

Apple’s services business includes the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple Pay and other subscription, payment and digital-content offerings.