Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) – Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group increased their FY2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Apple in a research note issued on Wednesday, May 1st, according to Zacks Investment Research. Jefferies Financial Group analyst T. O’shea now forecasts that the iPhone maker will earn $11.42 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $11.32. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a “Hold” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for Apple’s Q4 2019 earnings at $2.65 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $13.03 EPS.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $2.37 by $0.09. Apple had a net margin of 22.12% and a return on equity of 51.29%. The firm had revenue of $58.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $57.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on AAPL. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Canaccord Genuity lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $220.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $235.00 target price on shares of Apple and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-three have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Apple presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.43.
AAPL traded down $1.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $187.42. 4,108,120 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,691,996. Apple has a fifty-two week low of $142.00 and a fifty-two week high of $233.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $912.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.14.
Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, April 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $75.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.86%.
In related news, insider Luca Maestri sold 51,138 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.61, for a total value of $10,054,242.18. Following the sale, the insider now owns 27,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,396,551.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 56,411 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.36, for a total value of $11,866,617.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 151,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,803,697.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 142,549 shares of company stock valued at $29,300,960. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. increased its position in Apple by 505.0% during the 1st quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 242 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $76,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Apple by 30.6% during the 4th quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 614 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Truehand Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth $108,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.36% of the company’s stock.
Apple Company Profile
Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media devices, and personal computers. It also sells various related software, services, accessories, and third-party digital content and applications. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and Mac, a line of desktop and portable personal computers, as well as iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS operating systems.