Maxim Group Issues Positive Forecast for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price boosted by Maxim Group to $215.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Stock Target Advisor reports. Maxim Group currently has a hold rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.85.

Apple Price Performance

Apple stock opened at $245.55 on Friday. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $240.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.69 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,625 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $6,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,863 shares during the last quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,451,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $856,000. PVG Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $672,000. Finally, Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,508,000. 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.