Short Interest in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Rises By 14.3%

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) saw a large increase in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 113,520,000 shares, an increase of 14.3% from the May 15th total of 99,290,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 61,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $216.67 on Tuesday. Apple has a 52-week low of $164.07 and a 52-week high of $220.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $184.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.25.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple will post 6.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Monday, May 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total transaction of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total transaction of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 346,270 shares of company stock worth $60,880,196. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wyrmwood Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 31,278 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Gilfoyle & Co LLC increased its position in Apple by 118.0% in the 4th quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush upped their price target on Apple from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded Apple from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $162.00 to $188.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $207.47.

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.