Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 4.2% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s stock price shot up 4.2% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $238.84 and last traded at $239.41. 26,880,323 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 55,590,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price target on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.05.

Apple Trading Down 0.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $241.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.81.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. The trade was a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valmark Advisers Inc. raised its position in Apple by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 198,299 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares during the period. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,677,000. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,404,000. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 53,300 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $13,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copperleaf Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Copperleaf Capital LLC now owns 8,509 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares during the period. 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.