Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Raised to $265.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $238.00 to $265.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI reissued a buy rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, July 4th. Rosenblatt Securities raised Apple from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $196.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Itau BBA Securities raised Apple from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and boosted their target price for the company from $162.00 to $188.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Apple from $216.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $225.69.

Apple Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $224.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $207.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $188.84. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders 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 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the company’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 value of $14,368,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at $835,207,570.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,574,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in Apple during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 17.9% in the first 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 in the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 118.0% in the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. raised its position in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the fourth quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 60.41% 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.