Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $244.85.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus upgraded shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 7.2% during 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 period. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $27,451,000. Aurdan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $856,000. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $672,000. Finally, Perennial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $31,508,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple Stock Down 0.1 %

AAPL stock opened at $245.55 on Monday. The company 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 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 200 day moving average price is $232.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released 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, research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.