Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.4% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Citigroup lowered their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $245.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. Apple traded as low as $199.80 and last traded at $201.73. Approximately 16,336,654 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 56,797,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $202.52.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.85.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares in the company, valued at $87,377,116.59. This trade represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dover Advisors LLC increased its position in Apple by 45.1% during the first quarter. Dover Advisors LLC now owns 78,540 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $17,446,000 after acquiring an additional 24,403 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 33,247 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,385,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Avaii Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,824,000 after purchasing an additional 801 shares in the last quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% in the first quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 202,756 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $45,038,000 after purchasing an additional 938 shares during the period. Finally, Armbruster Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.2% in the first quarter. Armbruster Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,107 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,023,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $2.92 trillion, a P/E ratio of 30.84, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $220.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.53.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

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.