Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 3.7% – Should You Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 3.7% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $226.64 and last traded at $227.20. 25,593,678 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 58,212,945 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AAPL. Citigroup upped their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Apple from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Apple to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 20th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $242.52.

Apple Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $241.68 and a 200-day moving average of $230.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given 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 0.44%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Apple by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $60,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Apple by 1.8% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,473,224,000 after purchasing an additional 126,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.