Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $173.03, but opened at $186.65. Apple shares last traded at $184.13, with a volume of 55,547,421 shares.

The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.93%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Barclays increased their price objective on Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, March 25th. DZ Bank restated a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.00.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Trading Up 6.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $172.17 and a 200-day moving average of $181.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26.

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.