Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 0.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rose 0.7% on Thursday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock to $260.00. Evercore ISI currently has a buy rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $246.78 and last traded at $246.57. Approximately 8,103,969 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 52,815,000 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.87.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Apple from $273.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $242.52.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.06, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $240.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

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.