Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Increased to $225.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target hoisted by Piper Sandler from $190.00 to $225.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on AAPL. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Apple from $195.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Apple from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $196.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Barclays restated an underweight rating and issued a $164.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $218.43.

Apple Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $230.54 on Tuesday. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $233.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $203.00 and a 200 day moving average of $187.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

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

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Apple news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Wyrmwood Management LLC lifted 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Apple during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its position in Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in Apple by 657.1% during the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.