Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, December 20th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.167 per share by the iPhone maker on Monday, January 9th. This represents a $0.67 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 27th.
Apple has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 11 consecutive years. Apple has a payout ratio of 14.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Apple to earn $6.70 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 13.7%.
Apple Stock Down 1.1 %
Shares of Apple stock opened at $134.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $144.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.21. Apple has a 12-month low of $129.04 and a 12-month high of $182.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 trillion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.22.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 27th. The iPhone maker reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $90.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.77 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 160.90% and a net margin of 25.31%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Apple will post 6.19 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Activity at Apple
In other news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 176,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.95, for a total transaction of $27,493,829.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 110,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,259,454.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 20,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.72, for a total transaction of $3,004,144.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 31,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,685,423.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 176,299 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.95, for a total transaction of $27,493,829.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 110,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,259,454.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 380,851 shares of company stock worth $56,707,789. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Apple
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HBC Financial Services PLLC raised its holdings in Apple by 21.7% during the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 448 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Clear Perspectives Financial Planning LLC now owns 983 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 10.6% in the 2nd 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. Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 29,097.9% in the first quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,300,881 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 5,282,726 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the second quarter worth $203,000. 57.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, November 8th. DA Davidson cut their target price on shares of Apple to $167.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Apple from $156.00 to $144.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 7th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Apple from $160.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 7th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group set a $184.00 price objective on Apple in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.35.
Apple Company Profile
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; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.
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