Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Down 0.1% – Time to Sell?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell 0.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $251.31 and last traded at $251.95. 6,249,141 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 56,999,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $252.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AAPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $205.00 to $212.92 in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Moffett Nathanson reduced their price objective on Apple from $211.00 to $202.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $237.47.

Apple Stock Down 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $238.41 and a 200-day moving average of $228.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

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

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 11th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.45%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. This represents a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total transaction of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 163,435 shares of company stock worth $39,376,002 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Bull Oak Capital LLC lifted its position in Apple by 252.3% during the third quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in Apple during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in Apple in the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

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.