Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Sunday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AAPL. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Apple from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. DZ Bank raised shares of Apple from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Moffett Nathanson raised shares of Apple from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Apple from $298.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Melius Research set a $345.00 target price on Apple in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.22.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL stock opened at $275.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $253.91 and a 200-day moving average of $225.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Apple has a 12 month low of $169.21 and a 12 month high of $277.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.07 trillion, a P/E ratio of 41.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.08.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The iPhone maker reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $102.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.65 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 170.91% and a net margin of 24.30%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.92%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 43,013 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.39, for a total value of $11,071,116.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at $35,181,866.93. This represents a 23.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 47,125 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.79, for a total value of $12,101,228.75. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $46,005,982.82. The trade was a 20.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 224,300 shares of company stock worth $57,586,933. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Apple

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in Apple by 6.4% in the third quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 97,177 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 110.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC now owns 135 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Apple by 1,800.0% in the 1st quarter. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC now owns 190 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its holdings in Apple by 333.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 260 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in 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.