Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Announces Earnings Results

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 153.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.52 EPS.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $183.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $172.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.60. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $199.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AAPL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Apple from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $195.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America raised their target price on Apple from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $205.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Maxim Group started coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.00.

Apple declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares in the company, valued at $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.94, for a total value of $18,094,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,434,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $802,392,181.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock worth $63,653,887. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.