Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Shares Down 2.5% - Here's Why

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) experienced a decline of 2.5% in its stock price on Thursday. At one point, the stock reached a low of $231.16, ultimately trading at $231.96. During midday trading, about 16,430,465 shares were exchanged, marking a significant drop of 61% compared to the average daily volume of 42,383,129 shares. The stock had closed at $237.87 the previous day.

Analyst Ratings on Apple

Several analysts have recently assessed the outlook for Apple shares. On September 25th, New Street Research maintained a "neutral" rating and set a price target of $225.00 for the stock. Moffett Nathanson gave a "sell" rating and revised their price target down from $202.00 to $188.00 in a report published on January 7th. In contrast, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded their price objective from $261.00 to $262.00, maintaining a "buy" rating, while Piper Sandler also reiterated a "neutral" rating with a target price of $225.00 on October 9th. Meanwhile, Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a price target of $256.00 on January 3rd. Overall, out of the analysts, three have issued sell ratings, nine suggest holding, twenty-three recommend buying, and one has rated it a strong buy. As per data from MarketBeat, Apple currently possesses an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $239.85.

Apple's Stock Performance

Apple holds a market capitalization of $3.48 trillion and has a P/E ratio of 37.83, alongside a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s current ratio and quick ratio stand at 0.87 and 0.83, respectively, with a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Its 50-day moving average is $240.95, while the 200-day moving average is $230.56.

Recent Earnings Report

Apple reported its earnings results on October 31st. The company announced earnings per share (EPS) of $1.64 for the quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Additionally, Apple achieved revenue of $94.93 billion for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $94.52 billion. The company also exhibited a remarkable return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Revenue rose by 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year, during which Apple had an EPS of $1.46. Analysts expect the company to post an EPS of 7.43 for the current fiscal year.

Dividend Announcements

Apple also announced a quarterly dividend, paid on November 14th. Shareholders on record as of November 11th were entitled to a dividend of $0.25 per share, following an ex-dividend date of November 8th. This dividend translates to an annualized amount of $1.00, resulting in a yield of 0.43%. The current dividend payout ratio (DPR) sits at 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In additional news, Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of stock on December 16th at an average price of $249.97, accumulating a total of $24,997,000.00 from this transaction. After this sale, he retains 389,944 shares with a valuation of approximately $97,474,301.68, reflecting a 20.41% decrease in his ownership. The details of this trade were disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares on November 18th at an average price of $228.87, totaling $945,233.10. Following this sale, Kondo owns about 15,419 shares valued at roughly $3,528,946.53, which indicates a 21.13% reduction in ownership. Currently, 0.06% of Apple's stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors and Apple

Recently, several large investors have adjusted their stakes in Apple. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings by 252.3% in the third quarter and now owns 155 shares valued at $36,000. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC also entered a new position valued at approximately $42,000 during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc's holdings grew by 88.9% in the third quarter, now totaling 306 shares worth $69,000. Other notable changes include SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquiring a new position valued at around $71,000 and Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America entering a new investment of about $77,000. Currently, institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of Apple’s stock.

About Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a range of products including smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories. Its major products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, and various wearables and accessories such as AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.

Apple, Stocks, Analysis