Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q4 2022 EPS estimates for shares of Apple in a research report issued on Monday, September 19th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly now expects that the iPhone maker will post earnings per share of $1.27 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.29. The consensus estimate for Apple’s current full-year earnings is $6.11 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Apple’s Q2 2023 earnings at $1.57 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $6.53 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $2.07 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $1.53 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $6.87 EPS.
Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $177.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, September 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 29th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 25th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt initiated coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.68.
Apple Trading Up 1.6 %
Shares of AAPL stock opened at $156.90 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $159.84 and a 200-day moving average of $155.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. Apple has a 12-month low of $129.04 and a 12-month high of $182.94. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.89, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.23.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The iPhone maker reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 25.71% and a return on equity of 152.97%. The company had revenue of $82.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Apple’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple
A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Apple by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $221,753,959,000 after acquiring an additional 8,734,393 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 633,115,246 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $112,422,274,000 after acquiring an additional 10,951,705 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 264,351,901 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $46,812,958,000 after acquiring an additional 4,456,954 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Apple by 2.1% in the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 237,910,783 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $32,527,162,000 after acquiring an additional 4,831,418 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,228,507,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.72% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 25,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.77, for a total value of $4,119,250.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 427,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,411,823.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 96,735 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.95, for a total value of $16,923,788.25. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 110,673 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,362,241.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 25,000 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.77, for a total transaction of $4,119,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 427,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $70,411,823.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Apple Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 8th were given a $0.23 dividend. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 5th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 15.18%.
About Apple
Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. It also sells various related services. In addition, the company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; AirPods Max, an over-ear wireless headphone; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, HomePod, and iPod touch.
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