Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 1.6% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $219.62 and last traded at $220.34. 11,014,024 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 52,235,921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $223.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Loop Capital lowered shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Apple from $275.00 to $252.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $230.94 and a 200-day moving average of $233.28. The company has a market cap of $3.29 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.