Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $236.00 at UBS Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target boosted by UBS Group to $236.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Stock Target Advisor reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Apple from $260.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, DA Davidson set a $290.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.88.

Apple Stock Down 0.0 %

AAPL stock opened at $247.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.21, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $260.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $233.34.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,858,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,485,000. Armis Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $17,897,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its position in Apple by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 274,104 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $68,641,000 after purchasing an additional 15,944 shares during the period. Finally, Chokshi & Queen Wealth Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,460,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.