Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Short Interest Update

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 133,040,000 shares, a decrease of 5.6% from the October 15th total of 140,920,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 47,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total value of $13,802,497.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. This represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 404,040 shares of company stock worth $91,062,512 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bull Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 252.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its stake in Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter valued at $110,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AAPL. Maxim Group increased their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Melius Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on Apple in a report on Monday, August 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Apple to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.51.

Apple Price Performance

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $228.02 on Tuesday. Apple has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $237.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 trillion, a PE ratio of 37.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.00.

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

Apple Announces Dividend

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

About Apple

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.