Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Down 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares were down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $242.68 and last traded at $244.26. Approximately 10,207,795 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 37,355,895 shares. The stock had previously closed at $245.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AAPL shares. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “sell” rating and set a $188.00 price objective (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Apple from $186.00 to $184.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, October 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.64.

Apple Stock Up 0.2 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $239.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Apple by 252.3% in the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% 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.