Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 1.8% – What’s Next?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were down 1.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $265.73 and last traded at $267.46. Approximately 42,977,915 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average daily volume of 55,730,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Apple from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Apple from $279.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.22.

Apple Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $255.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.05.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.11. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 13.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total transaction of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 179,158 shares in the company, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,098 shares in the company, valued at $4,095,030.54. This represents a 19.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 228,052 shares of company stock valued at $58,604,588. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% in the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC raised its holdings in Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by 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.