Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $311.82 and last traded at $308.33, with a volume of 47946653 shares. The stock had previously closed at $308.82.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Apple to $380 from $330 and kept a Buy rating, saying Apple is well positioned to benefit from the emerging “agentic AI” smartphone market and could unlock substantial new revenue from a redesigned Siri and AI features. Apple seen as key beneficiary of emerging agentic AI smartphone market, BofA says
• Positive Sentiment: Other Wall Street coverage echoed that view, with reports saying Apple is hitting all-time highs as investors expect a deeper AI push at WWDC, which could improve sentiment and support further upside. Apple stock hits all-time high as analysts see AI-driven breakout
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts also highlighted strong underlying fundamentals, including record Services revenue and continued strength in iPhone sales, reinforcing the long-term growth case for Apple. Strong Content & Advertising Aids Apple’s Services: More Upside Ahead?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple and Google are pushing back against Canada’s proposed police data-access bill, a regulatory issue that could affect the company’s privacy stance but is not an immediate earnings driver. Apple, Google Blast Canada’s Plan to Expand Police Data Powers
• Negative Sentiment: One potential headwind came from an article noting iPhone 17e sales in Japan have slowed versus its predecessor, which could raise questions about demand in some markets. The Real Reason The iPhone 17e Is Falling Behind Its Predecessor In Japan

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. KGI Securities raised Apple to an “outperform” rating and set a $306.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $330.00 target price on Apple in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $330.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 1st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Apple from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $310.31.

Apple Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $271.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $269.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.06.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a return on equity of 146.69% and a net margin of 27.15%.The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 EPS for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total transaction of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 97,759 shares of company stock worth $24,964,305 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 6.4% during the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares during the last quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.