Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.5% – Time to Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares shot up 0.5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $222.10 and last traded at $222.65. 6,826,417 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 52,305,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $221.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Moffett Nathanson restated a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.52.

Apple Stock Down 2.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $230.70 and its 200-day moving average is $233.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 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.