Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were down 1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $232.60 and last traded at $234.07. Approximately 11,649,080 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 59,780,301 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.48.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Raymond James upped their target price on Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $186.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on Apple in a research report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Apple from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $239.27.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.43 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Finally, Cordant Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.3% during the third quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.