Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Earns Buy Rating from Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI restated their buy rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research report released on Thursday, Stock Target Advisor reports. They currently have a $250.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Apple from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a buy rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Apple from $187.00 to $186.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Melius Research reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One equities research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $238.76.

Apple Trading Up 0.1 %

AAPL stock opened at $227.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50-day moving average is $222.19 and its 200 day moving average is $202.38. Apple has a 12-month low of $164.07 and a 12-month high of $237.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.49 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.43, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares in the company, valued at $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock worth $23,723,887. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the first quarter valued at $35,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. 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 valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.