Zacks Research Analysts Raise Earnings Estimates for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Posted by Defense World Staff on Jun 15th, 2023

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) – Analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Apple in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, June 13th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now anticipates that the iPhone maker will earn $1.91 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $1.90. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $5.99 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple’s FY2024 earnings at $6.46 EPS.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AAPL. DA Davidson lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $193.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, June 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price target on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Apple from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Apple from $185.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. Finally, 58.com restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.40.

Apple Stock Up 0.3 %

AAPL stock opened at $183.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $171.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $154.62. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $124.17 and a fifty-two week high of $184.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.84 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 EPS.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Investors of record on Monday, May 15th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.30%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 4th that allows the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total transaction of $9,261,412.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,052 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,766,188.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 56,072 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.17, for a total transaction of $9,261,412.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,766,188.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 439,529 shares of company stock valued at $71,703,657. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MKT Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. MKT Advisors LLC now owns 12,269 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,777,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,076 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 16,091 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,653,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Adaptive Financial Consulting LLC raised its position in Apple by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Adaptive Financial Consulting LLC now owns 2,606 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Apple by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. PFG Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,644 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,260,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 57.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Apple

(Get Rating)

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.

Earnings History and Estimates for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Receive News & Ratings for Apple Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Apple and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.