Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Up 0.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) were up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $217.49 and last traded at $216.35. Approximately 8,786,211 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 52,705,436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $215.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Apple from $183.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. DA Davidson set a $290.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.65.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. On average, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Drystone LLC acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $47,000. Conquis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management acquired a new stake in Apple during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Apple

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.