Barclays Boosts Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $164.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $158.00 to $164.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the subject of several other research reports. Redburn Partners downgraded Apple to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Apple from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $195.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Maxim Group assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They set a hold rating and a $178.00 price target on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $196.00 price target (up previously from $189.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Apple from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $204.11.

Apple Trading Up 6.0 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $183.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $199.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $172.17 and a 200 day moving average of $181.67.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s payout ratio is 14.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,068,376.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total value of $16,864,085.49. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new stake in Apple in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 206,455 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 31,278 shares in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% 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.