Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday after Bank of America raised their price target on the stock from $176.00 to $190.00. The company traded as high as $182.82 and last traded at $182.82, with a volume of 968941 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $180.95.
Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Fundamental Research set a $183.86 price objective on Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apple from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 5th. 51job restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.28.
Insider Buying and Selling at Apple
In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,881,483.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.26, for a total value of $708,979.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,881,483.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,253,004.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple
Apple Trading Down 0.8 %
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.82 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $169.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.10.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 165.72%. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Apple Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.30%.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 4th that allows the company to buyback $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Apple Company Profile
Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.
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