Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given New $270.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective lifted by Bank of America from $260.00 to $270.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday. Melius Research set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.16.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $226.79 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $212.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.11. Apple has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 34,821 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 136,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,508,538.40. This represents a 20.30% 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 link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its stake in Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by 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.