JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $260.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $265.00 to $260.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the iPhone maker’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 13.05% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AAPL. StockNews.com cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $184.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.02.

Apple Stock Up 0.8 %

AAPL stock opened at $229.98 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $241.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.85. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $260.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.83, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,862 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,483,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 21,594 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,407,000 after buying an additional 1,894 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 50,178 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,566,000 after buying an additional 1,948 shares in the last quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC raised its position in Apple by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 54,187 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,570,000 after buying an additional 1,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crown Oak Advisors LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $1,080,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

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.