Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $302.80 and last traded at $302.25. 37,304,507 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 47,015,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $298.97.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple said its App Store blocked about $2.2 billion in fraudulent transactions last year and shut down roughly 1 billion fake accounts, reinforcing the value of its ecosystem, trust, and security moat.
• Positive Sentiment: Wedbush said Apple’s price cuts in China for the 618 holiday could help its market-share push in a key region, which may support near-term iPhone demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary continues to highlight Apple’s Services business as a major growth driver, with some estimates pointing to a path toward much higher earnings per share as recurring, high-margin revenue expands.
• Positive Sentiment: Apple also unveiled more AI-powered accessibility features and broader AI plans for iOS 27, signaling continued investment in its software ecosystem ahead of WWDC.
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple remains near its recent highs, and sentiment is being shaped by the balance between strong brand/ecosystem momentum and worries that the stock may have already priced in a lot of good news.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Maxim Group raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stephens set a $315.00 target price on Apple in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Apple from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $308.74.

Apple Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $267.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.06.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $421,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares in the company, valued at $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 30,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its position in Apple by 24.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC increased its position in Apple by 0.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Apple by 14.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 4.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Apple by 2.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.