Morgan Stanley Boosts Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target to $216.00

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $216.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Apple from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $195.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. UBS Group reiterated a hold rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Apple from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $208.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $183.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $172.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.67. Apple has a 1-year low of $164.07 and a 1-year high of $199.62. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 153.25% and a net margin of 26.31%. Apple’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Apple will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a positive change 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 14.93%.

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, 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 sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value 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 $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 99,183 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,377,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $574,260,512.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have 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 have recently modified their holdings of the company. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Conservest Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,802 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,877,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Flagstone Financial Management boosted its stake in Apple by 0.9% in 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 grew its position in Apple by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. High Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,638,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% during the third quarter. Kraft Davis & Associates LLC now owns 6,716 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Planning Corporation lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Asset Planning Corporation now owns 6,135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% 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.