Stocks

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 0.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Published December 27, 2024

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) saw its share price increase by 0.1% during midday trading on Thursday. This uptick followed an upgrade from Wedbush, which raised its price target for the stock from $300.00 to $325.00. Currently, Wedbush has assigned an outperform rating to Apple’s stock. On that day, Apple shares reached a high of $260.10 but concluded the trading session at $258.56. Overall, 8,958,527 shares changed hands, marking a notable decline of 84% from the average volume of 57,273,676 shares. The previous closing price for the stock was $258.20.

In addition to Wedbush's upgrade, multiple analysts have recently provided commentary on AAPL. For instance, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Apple from a 'buy' to a 'hold' rating while increasing its price target from $205.00 to $212.92 as of October 7th. Similarly, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a 'buy' rating with a target price of $260.00 in a report released on December 10th. On December 13th, Morgan Stanley reiterated an 'overweight' rating with a price target of $273.00. Furthermore, KeyCorp lowered its rating from 'sector weight' to 'underweight' with a price target of $200.00 on October 25th. New Street Research also issued a 'neutral' rating, projecting a price objective of $225.00 as stated on September 25th. Currently, two analysts have rated the stock as a sell, twelve have given it a hold rating, and twenty-three analysts recommend a buy. Moreover, one analyst has assigned a strong buy rating, leading to a consensus rating of 'Moderate Buy' with an average price target of $237.47 according to MarketBeat.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares on October 2nd, with the shares being sold at an average price of $224.46. This transaction totaled approximately $50,275,897.56. Post-sale, Cook's direct ownership fell to 3,280,180 shares, valued at about $736,269,202.80, a 6.39% reduction in his stock ownership. The details of this transaction were disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Additionally, Senior Vice President Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares on the same day, also at an average price of $226.20, totaling around $13,802,497.80. After this sale, she owned 187,043 shares valued at approximately $42,309,126.60, reflecting a 24.60% drop in her ownership. Over the last 90 days, insiders have reportedly sold 508,170 shares valued at $117,004,745, with corporate insiders owning just 0.06% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investor Activity

Recently, many institutional investors and hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Apple shares. Financial Symmetry Inc increased its stake by 0.5% in the second quarter and now owns 11,796 shares valued at around $2,484,000. Similarly, CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake by 7.4% during the same period, holding 51,628 shares worth approximately $10,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,573 shares. Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings by 1.0% in the second quarter, resulting in ownership of 41,290 shares valued at $8,696,000 after a purchase of 409 shares. CWM LLC also grew its stake by 2.4%, now owning over 2 million shares worth around $421,296,000 after buying an additional 45,968 shares. Lastly, Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings by 8.2%, owning 160,336 shares valued at $35,317,000 after purchasing an extra 12,086 shares. Currently, institutional investors hold 67.73% of Apple's stock.

Current Price Performance of Apple

Apple has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.83, and a current ratio of 0.87. The company maintains a 50-day simple moving average of $237.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $227.21. It boasts a market capitalization of $3.92 trillion, with a P/E ratio of 42.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41, and a beta of 1.23. Following its latest earnings announcement on October 31st, which reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.64, Apple exceeded analysts’ expectations of $1.60 by $0.04. The company recorded a revenue of $94.93 billion in the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $94.52 billion. The year-over-year revenue growth was 6.1%, with the previous year's EPS being $1.46, reflecting a strong financial performance. Analysts currently anticipate that Apple will post an EPS of 7.43 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Information

Apple also announced a quarterly dividend that was paid on November 14th. Stockholders on record as of November 11th received a dividend of $0.25 per share. This translates to an annualized dividend of $1.00, giving a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was November 8th, and the company's payout ratio stands at 16.45%.

Overview of Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a range of technology products including smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and various accessories. Its primary product lines include the iPhone smartphones, Mac computers, iPad tablets, and various wearable tech like AirPods, Apple Watch, and HomePod.