Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading 1.2% Higher – Still a Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares traded up 1.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $223.46 and last traded at $223.44. 10,503,477 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 52,661,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $220.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.65.

Apple Stock Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.32 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.08, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $231.03 and a 200-day moving average of $233.35.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 15.87%.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Drystone LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.