Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 1.5% on Earnings Beat

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shot up 1.5% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $172.66 and last traded at $171.91. 19,338,124 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 59,947,543 shares. The stock had previously closed at $169.30.

The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.93%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price (up from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Maxim Group assumed coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $33,912,466,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 14,395.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after buying an additional 70,212,651 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Apple by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,318,064,349 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $253,766,929,000 after buying an additional 18,067,216 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 23,076.4% during the 1st quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 9,240,214 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,584,512,000 after acquiring an additional 9,200,345 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 130.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,430,190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,815,594,000 after acquiring an additional 5,331,439 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Stock Up 6.0 %

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 market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $172.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.57.

About Apple

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.