Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given “Hold” Rating at UBS Group

UBS Group reissued their hold rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. UBS Group currently has a $190.00 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Apple from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $225.00 to $215.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an outperform rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $204.53.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $171.48 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $181.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. Apple has a 52 week low of $159.35 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.65 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 26.16% and a return on equity of 156.04%. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $117.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.95%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlantic Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its holdings 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. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 118.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Summit Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 16,252.3% during the first quarter. Summit Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,992,420 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 6,949,659 shares in the last quarter. 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.