Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Given New $236.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price target raised by UBS Group to $236.00 in a report published on Tuesday,Stock Target Advisor reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, August 19th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $256.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $225.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.01, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.24. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Apple will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total transaction of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. The trade was a 6.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. This represents a 35.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 404,040 shares of company stock valued at $91,062,512. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goodman Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 1.9% during the third quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC now owns 46,096 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $10,740,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 6.7% in the third quarter. Greenwood Gearhart Inc. now owns 220,439 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $51,361,000 after buying an additional 13,907 shares during the last quarter. Valued Retirements Inc. purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,538,000. Brophy Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,726,000. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in Apple by 10.1% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 375,539 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $87,501,000 after buying an additional 34,414 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

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.