Loop Capital Raises Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $300.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective upped by Loop Capital to $300.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on AAPL. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $245.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.27.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $230.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $226.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.48. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $237.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $85.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.43 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.44% and a return on equity of 147.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Apple will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Apple’s payout ratio is 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total value of $1,121,037.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,223,062.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 5,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.50, for a total transaction of $1,121,037.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,223,062.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 59,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.86, for a total value of $13,550,347.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,944 shares in the company, valued at $111,148,695.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 517,924 shares of company stock valued at $114,786,399 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 17.9% during the first quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 31,278 shares during the last quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth $140,000. 60.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.