JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $225.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $225.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Apple from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a neutral rating and set a $196.00 target price (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Maxim Group began coverage on Apple in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a hold rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $204.11.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $183.38 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $199.62. The company has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.93%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total value of $10,188,879.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,162 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.22, for a total transaction of $10,188,879.64. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $84,378,155.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.