Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares fell 0.5% during trading on Monday after Loop Capital lowered their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $275.00. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock. Apple traded as low as $219.71 and last traded at $221.87. 11,186,510 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 59,172,742 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.91.

AAPL has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler Companies reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.51.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 417,924 shares of company stock worth $94,142,399. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Apple by 106.8% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 116,344 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $27,108,000 after purchasing an additional 60,081 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its stake in Apple by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 520,668 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $121,316,000 after acquiring an additional 16,651 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 26,346 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,139,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. FMB Wealth Management grew its holdings in Apple by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMB Wealth Management now owns 19,291 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,495,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Solution LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 165.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Solution LLC now owns 32,845 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $7,653,000 after buying an additional 20,467 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.37 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $227.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.64.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 145.09% and a net margin of 23.97%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 11th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

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.