Piper Sandler Companies Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Piper Sandler Companies restated their neutral rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $225.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $190.00.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. DZ Bank reissued a hold rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Apple from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Apple from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and issued a $216.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $218.43.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $230.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $203.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $187.52. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $233.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Apple

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. lifted its position in Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently 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.