Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $303.36 and last traded at $303.9080, with a volume of 10349885 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $302.25.

Trending Headlines about Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple continues to be viewed as one of the best long-term large-cap tech names, with reports highlighting strong iPhone demand, its massive installed base, and the potential for Services to drive the next leg of earnings growth. Apple Services story
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain constructive: Evercore ISI reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target, while other commentary says Apple can keep compounding earnings and free cash flow as it expands AI features and devices. Analyst commentary
• Positive Sentiment: Apple executives saying the company is still in the “early innings” of spatial computing is reinforcing the view that new product categories could support future growth beyond the iPhone. Spatial computing article
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple’s legal fight with Epic Games remains a drag on sentiment, as the company asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a contempt order tied to App Store fees. Epic lawsuit article
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts are becoming more cautious on valuation after Apple’s run to new highs, warning the stock may be due for profit-taking. KeyBanc caution article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $365.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Stephens set a $315.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $308.74.

Apple Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a market cap of $4.54 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $269.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $268.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s payout ratio is 13.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 35,319 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,845,000 after buying an additional 6,982 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 54,085 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $13,544,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 537,314 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $134,554,000 after buying an additional 69,207 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 66,857 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,742,000 after buying an additional 2,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 50,264 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,587,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.