Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 1.9% – Here’s Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares dropped 1.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $244.80 and last traded at $245.71. Approximately 16,661,095 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 57,133,910 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Monness Crespi & Hardt reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.47.

Apple Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.67 trillion, a P/E ratio of 39.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $238.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.58.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 163,435 shares of company stock worth $39,376,002. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Apple by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in Apple during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter worth about $77,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by 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.