JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $225.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $210.00 to $225.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

AAPL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Apple from $223.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group reissued a hold rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $181.71 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $172.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $181.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Apple announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Apple news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.03, for a total transaction of $16,864,085.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total transaction of $18,094,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,877,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management increased its position in Apple by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Flagstone Financial Management now owns 6,092 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Corporation boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.