Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $212.95 and last traded at $213.07. 11,455,597 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 52,860,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.47. The company has a market cap of $3.23 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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.