Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Price Target Lowered to $245.00 at Citigroup

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $275.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the iPhone maker’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Apple from $290.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Apple from $260.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Apple from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Apple to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.85.

Apple Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $202.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. Apple has a one year low of $164.08 and a one year high of $260.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Apple will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.87%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total value of $8,683,316.74. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. The trade was a 17.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 3,280,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This represents a 3.19 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 182,451 shares of company stock valued at $40,818,720. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. Amara Financial LLC. bought a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at about $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Apple by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $16,269,000 after buying an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its position in Apple by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after buying an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $22,505,000 after buying an additional 3,935 shares during the period. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.5% during the third quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 276,791 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $64,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,711 shares during the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.