Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $236.00 at UBS Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target raised by UBS Group to $236.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have a hold rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 target price (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.88.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $237.30 on Tuesday. Apple has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.56 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.67, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $239.85 and a 200 day moving average of $233.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 10,026 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,837,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Apple by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 189,297 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $47,404,000 after acquiring an additional 21,811 shares during the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 37,048 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,278,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. Finally, Landaas & Co. WI ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Landaas & Co. WI ADV now owns 29,265 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,329,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.