Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.1%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $169.65 and last traded at $170.64. 14,913,806 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 61,230,395 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler Companies downgraded shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. DA Davidson started coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $166.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.27.

Apple Trading Up 2.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.68 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.73.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC increased its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC boosted its position in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP grew its stake in Apple by 200.0% in the third quarter. Cheyne Capital Management UK LLP now owns 275 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% 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.