Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Evercore ISI Analyst Says

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target upped by Evercore ISI from $260.00 to $275.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the subject of several other reports. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of Apple to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

Apple Trading Down 0.6 %

Apple stock opened at $212.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $233.31 and a 200-day moving average of $233.60. Apple has a one year low of $164.08 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, equities analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners increased its stake in Apple by 12.8% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after acquiring an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Apple by 4.2% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after acquiring an additional 3,935 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.