Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price fell 1.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $230.52 and last traded at $231.46. 13,263,797 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 53,592,788 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 price objective (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.88.

Apple Trading Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $238.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.92.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business 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 yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.