Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 0.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $237.86 and last traded at $236.88. 11,453,403 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 53,377,103 shares. The stock had previously closed at $235.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson set a $290.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $275.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $262.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.88.

Apple Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $237.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.03. 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 company has a market cap of $3.59 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.95, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS 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 anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. 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.