Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given New $275.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $255.00 to $275.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Apple from $280.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt increased their target price on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $242.52.

Apple Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $236.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.87. Apple has a one year low of $164.07 and a one year high of $260.10. The firm has a market cap of $3.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Equities analysts anticipate that Apple will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,419 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total value of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares in the company, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% 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.