Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $198.83 and last traded at $196.79. Approximately 51,328,536 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 10% from the average daily volume of 56,816,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $194.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their target price on Apple from $325.00 to $250.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.85.

Apple Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $2.96 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth about $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its position in shares of Apple by 12.8% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management lifted its position in Apple by 2.5% during the third quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 276,791 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $64,492,000 after buying an additional 6,711 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.