Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Raised to “Market Perform” at Itau BBA Securities

Itau BBA Securities upgraded shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a report published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $188.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock, up from their previous price target of $162.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Apple from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Piper Sandler Companies cut Apple to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $220.00 to $205.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, DZ Bank reiterated a hold rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Stock Up 6.0 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $183.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $172.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Analysts predict that Apple will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple announced that its board has initiated a share 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its holdings in Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% 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.