Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $315.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price upped by Monness Crespi & Hardt from $300.00 to $315.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $315.00 target price (up previously from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $315.00 price objective (down from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. DZ Bank raised Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $289.23.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $259.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $268.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.01. Apple has a 52-week low of $169.21 and a 52-week high of $288.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67 by $0.17. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The firm had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $138.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 9th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 3,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.23, for a total transaction of $1,017,654.96. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,095,030.54. The trade was a 19.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Apple by 110.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its position in Apple by 333.3% during the second quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record quarter driven by iPhone 17 and China — Apple beat revenue and EPS expectations, reported record iPhone sales and gave strong March-quarter revenue/margin guidance, supporting bullish near-term fundamentals. Apple sales, profit beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target increases — Several firms raised targets and reiterated buy ratings after the beat (including TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Monness Crespi & Hardt), which supports upside sentiment among institutional investors. Analyst notes
• Neutral Sentiment: AI strategy remains ambiguous — Apple announced partnerships (e.g., Google Gemini) and made AI-related M&A (Q.ai), but offered limited execution details; these moves signal intent but leave monetization and competitive positioning unclear. AI details unclear
• Neutral Sentiment: Potential supply-chain diversification — Reports that Apple is exploring U.S. foundry partners (e.g., Intel) could ease long-term sourcing risk but are early-stage and not an immediate fix for 2026 capacity issues. Intel foundry reports
• Negative Sentiment: Rising memory-chip costs and shortages — Apple warned memory prices are beginning to bite; suppliers like Samsung and SK Hynix are prioritizing AI chips, tightening supply and pressuring gross margins if costs stay elevated. Memory cost warning
• Negative Sentiment: iPhone production constraints — Multiple reports say TSMC/other chip shortages are limiting Apple’s ability to meet iPhone demand, forcing Apple to prioritize premium models and potentially capping unit growth despite strong demand. TSMC supply short
• Negative Sentiment: Talent and execution questions in AI — Reports of AI researcher departures and commentary that the Google partnership could limit Apple’s AI upside have soured investor enthusiasm for Apple’s AI prospects. AI researcher departures

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.