Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation, twenty-one have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $330.4444.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Apple from $276.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Apple from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, China Renaissance cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $280.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total value 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 trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple by 0.3% in the second quarter. Sterling Wealth Management Inc. now owns 11,579 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Evansbrook LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Evansbrook LLC now owns 8,095 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. JMG Financial Group Ltd. now owns 5,102 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,520,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Apple News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Planned CEO transition appears orderly. Tim Cook will step down in September and be succeeded by longtime Apple executive John Ternus, a veteran with experience dating back to the Steve Jobs era. Cook’s endorsement and Ternus’ familiarity with Apple’s products may reduce concerns about strategic disruption. Tim Cook Says There’s ‘No Better Person’ to Take Over at Apple
• Positive Sentiment: Core business momentum remains strong. Apple’s latest quarter exceeded earnings and revenue expectations, with revenue up roughly 16% year over year. Broad iPhone, Mac and Services demand continues to support the bullish case. Tim Cook’s Last Quarter as CEO Was Apple’s Best June Quarter Ever
• Positive Sentiment: App Store monetization is holding up. App Store revenue increased slightly despite a 4% decline in iPhone and iPad downloads, as revenue per download rose 4.7%. This suggests continued pricing and engagement resilience in a key Services business. Apple App Store Revenue Ticks Up Despite Falling Downloads
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is seeking dismissal of Apple’s trade-secrets lawsuit. OpenAI denies misappropriating confidential information related to Apple’s consumer-hardware efforts. The filing does not resolve the dispute, leaving legal and competitive uncertainty in place. OpenAI Seeks Dismissal of Apple’s Trade Secrets Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term cost and growth pressures are weighing on sentiment. Rising memory prices, supply constraints and policy risks could pressure margins, while slower Services growth has prompted some firms to downgrade Apple to Hold or Moderate Sell. Apple’s Capex Strategy Worked But Other Pressures Are Mounting
• Negative Sentiment: Competition in emerging hardware is increasing. Samsung reported a 30% rise in foldable-device preorders, highlighting a market Apple has yet to enter. Investors may view future Apple foldables as an opportunity, but execution and timing remain uncertain. Samsung Foldable Preorders Jump 30%

Apple Price Performance

Shares of Apple stock opened at $313.33 on Monday. Apple has a one year low of $219.25 and a one year high of $344.57. The company has a market cap of $4.57 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $309.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $283.42.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $109.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.04 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.62% and a return on equity of 135.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Apple will post 8.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 10th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 12.39%.

Apple Company Profile

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.