Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 1.2% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $212.17 and last traded at $210.89. Approximately 11,455,817 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 52,895,230 shares. The stock had previously closed at $213.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer downgraded Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price target on Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their price objective on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Apple to $236.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

Apple Stock Down 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $233.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. O Connor Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. O Connor Financial Group LLC now owns 3,578 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Apple by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 9,654 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,249,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Apple by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,489 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC now owns 13,815 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 12,221 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.