Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $187.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $164.00 to $187.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and increased their target price for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 1st. Piper Sandler Companies reissued a neutral rating and set a $225.00 target price (up from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $238.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $230.09.

Apple Stock Up 0.2 %

AAPL stock opened at $217.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.06. The company has a market capitalization of $3.34 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.23.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $1,713,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,511 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,406,000. Barden Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 132.8% in the 4th quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 32,636 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,615 shares during the period. Finally, Sunpointe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,782,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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.