Citigroup Boosts Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $185.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price lifted by Citigroup to $185.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Stock Target Advisor reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $261.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Oppenheimer restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.91.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $231.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $237.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $226.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $210.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 517,924 shares of company stock worth $114,786,399 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the period. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Apple during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the first quarter worth about $140,000. 60.41% of the stock is currently 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.