Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.6% on Friday . The company traded as low as $228.95 and last traded at $229.42. Approximately 11,194,368 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 55,895,766 shares. The stock had previously closed at $233.22.
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Apple from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $242.52.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Apple
The stock has a market capitalization of $3.42 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $241.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $231.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.
In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value 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 $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Drystone LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its position 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.
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.
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