Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Underperform”

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from a hold rating to an underperform rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $200.75 price objective on the iPhone maker’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $211.84.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down previously from $256.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 24th. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.88.

Apple Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $237.62 on Thursday. Apple has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $3.57 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $241.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.81.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. On average, analysts predict that Apple will post 7.34 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total transaction of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,528,946.53. This trade represents a 21.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. acquired a new position in Apple in the third quarter worth about $288,000. Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 2.7% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 289,421 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $60,958,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Apple by 1.8% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,994,703 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,473,224,000 after purchasing an additional 126,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.