Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) is scheduled to issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, October 27th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $1.25 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 28th. The iPhone maker reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.06. Apple had a net margin of 25.71% and a return on equity of 152.97%. The firm had revenue of $82.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Apple to post $6 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.
Apple Stock Up 0.1 %
AAPL opened at $143.86 on Thursday. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $129.04 and a fifty-two week high of $182.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $154.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.31 trillion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.25.
Apple Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 5th. This represents a $0.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.18%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $180.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $169.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 11th. Bank Of America (Bofa) downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $189.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Friday, September 30th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Apple from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $160.00 to $189.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 29th. Finally, Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, July 26th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $136.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.25.
Insider Activity at Apple
In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 96,735 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.95, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 96,735 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 17th. The stock was 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 $19,362,241.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 176,299 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.16, for a total value of $25,062,665.84. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,290 shares in the company, valued at $19,374,986.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 306,087 shares of company stock worth $47,252,854. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Apple
Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 21.7% during the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 27.3% during the first quarter. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC now owns 983 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Apple by 10.6% during the second quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 57.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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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