Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) PT Raised to $236.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price increased by UBS Group from $190.00 to $236.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Cfra upped their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Melius Research reiterated a buy rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $238.62.

Apple Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $220.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.39 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.70. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 147.15% and a net margin of 26.44%. The company had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total value of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,469,275. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.44, for a total transaction of $20,644,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 191,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,542,136.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,884 shares of company stock valued at $23,723,887. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its stake in shares of Apple by 657.1% during the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.