Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 1.5% – Time to Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $283.42 and last traded at $283.10. Approximately 45,447,558 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average daily volume of 55,304,953 shares. The stock had previously closed at $278.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AAPL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. CLSA raised Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 5th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Apple from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $300.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Apple presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $278.22.

Apple Trading Up 1.5%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $263.27 and its 200-day moving average is $231.86. The company has a market cap of $4.18 trillion, a P/E ratio of 42.96, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $102.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.65 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. Apple’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.64 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 129,963 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.81, for a total transaction of $33,375,798.03. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $842,412,558.95. This trade represents a 3.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 228,052 shares of company stock worth $58,604,588 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Isthmus Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Apple in the second quarter worth $31,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the third quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1,800.0% during the first quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 333.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Company Profile

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.