Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 4.8% – Should You Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price was up 4.8% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $309.42 and last traded at $308.63. 74,852,903 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 48% from the average session volume of 50,746,855 shares. The stock had previously closed at $294.38.

More Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports say Apple is planning at least five new iPhone models through early 2027 and has increased foldable iPhone production plans to 10 million units, reinforcing hopes for a strong product cycle. Apple plans five new iPhones through 2027, eyes Chinese-made chips amid foldable push, reports say
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and commentators turned more constructive on Apple, citing AI potential, App Store/services growth, and long-term upside from new products like a foldable iPhone. What’s Going on With Apple Stock Thursday?
• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s share strength is also being helped by a relative safety trade, with the stock outperforming a weak tech sector as investors rotate toward large-cap leaders. What’s Going on With Apple Stock Thursday?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Tigress Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $375.00 price objective (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.85.

Apple Trading Up 4.8%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $293.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $273.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.53 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The company had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 13.06%.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 1,534 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $421,850.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 13,366 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,675,650. This represents a 10.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,924 shares of company stock valued at $825,546. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 10.3% during the second quarter. Box Hill Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,551 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,053,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the period. Asset Management Advisors LLC raised its position in Apple by 2.3% during the second quarter. Asset Management Advisors LLC now owns 34,343 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $9,937,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Diesslin Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diesslin Group Inc. now owns 14,993 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $4,338,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.3% in the second quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 10,453 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $3,025,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SWP Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. SWP Investment Management LLC now owns 21,036 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $6,087,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple’s principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.