Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.8% – What’s Next?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares traded up 0.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $234.67 and last traded at $234.46. 13,887,795 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 54,520,105 shares. The stock had previously closed at $232.62.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Maxim Group raised their target price on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Raymond James raised their target price on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Apple Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $240.82 and a 200 day moving average of $231.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 76,187 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $19,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Apple by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 3,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its stake in Apple by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 20,456 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 39,805,248 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,968,030,000 after purchasing an additional 796,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.