Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given New $164.00 Price Target at Barclays

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price boosted by Barclays from $158.00 to $164.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. DZ Bank reaffirmed a hold rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $204.00.

Apple Stock Up 6.0 %

Shares of AAPL traded up $10.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $183.38. The company had a trading volume of 163,224,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,692,680. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. Apple has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $199.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $172.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.57.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.93%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total value of $9,262,139.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Apple in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new position in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its stake in Apple by 118.0% in 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 in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.