JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $270.00 to $245.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an “underweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $263.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.85.

Apple Stock Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $202.52 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $222.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.08 and a 1-year high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This represents a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 182,451 shares of company stock worth $40,818,720. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.