Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives $243.65 Average Target Price from Analysts

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $245.52.

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th.

Apple Stock Up 1.0 %

AAPL stock opened at $223.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $164.08 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $230.94 and a 200-day moving average of $233.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Drystone LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% 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.