UBS Group Maintains Hold Rating for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

On October 19, 2024, UBS Group reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). In a research report published on Wednesday, they set a target price of $236.00 for the tech giant’s stock, as reported by Stock Target Advisor.

Recent assessments from various research firms further clarify the market outlook for Apple. Maxim Group reiterated a hold rating on Apple, assigning a target price of $203.00 in their report released on September 10. On the same day, Rosenblatt Securities maintained a buy rating with a price target of $261.00 for Apple shares.

Barclays took a different approach, reiterating an underweight rating with a target price set at $186.00 in a report released on October 1. Meanwhile, Evercore ISI issued a buy rating with a target of $250.00 for Apple in their report on September 26.

In a notable move, Raymond James raised their target price from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an outperform rating as of July 26. Analyzing the consensus rating on Apple, one analyst has rated the stock as a sell, while thirteen have issued hold ratings, twenty-two have given buy ratings, and one analyst has assigned it a strong buy rating. MarketBeat.com indicates that the average rating for Apple is "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $239.27.

Apple Price Performance

Apple’s stock opened at $235.00 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.78 and a 200-day average of $207.84. Some financial metrics include a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.91, and a current ratio of 0.95. Over the past year, Apple’s stock has seen a low of $164.07 and a high of $237.49, with a market capitalization of $3.60 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.55, and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40.

In its latest earnings results announced on August 1, Apple reported earnings of $1.40 per share, which exceeded analysts’ expectations of $1.34 by $0.06. The company achieved a revenue of $85.78 billion for that quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of $84.43 billion. Compared to the same quarter last year, Apple’s revenue grew by 4.9%. Analysts anticipate that Apple will achieve earnings per share of 6.65 by the end of this year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

Recently, Apple declared a quarterly dividend, which was distributed on August 15. Shareholders recorded on August 12 received a dividend payout of $0.25 per share, leading to an annualized dividend of $1.00 or a yield of 0.43%. The current dividend payout ratio stands at 15.55%.

Insider Trading Activity

In recent insider trading news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of Apple on October 2, at an average price of $224.46. This sale totaled approximately $50.28 million. After this transaction, Cook retained ownership of 3,280,180 shares valued at around $736.27 million. Additionally, Senior Vice President Katherine L. Adams sold 100,000 shares on August 5, at an average price of $206.44, amounting to about $20.64 million. Following this sale, she holds 191,543 shares valued at roughly $39.54 million. In total, insiders sold 517,924 shares of Apple in the past ninety days, valued at over $114.79 million, with insider ownership currently at about 0.06%.

Institutional Investor Activity

Institutional investors and hedge funds have been active in trading Apple shares. Bellwether Advisors LLC reported an increase of 387.3% in their holdings during the second quarter, now owning 24,349 shares valued at $5.13 million after buying an additional 19,352 shares. WT Asset Management Ltd entered a new position in Apple valued at approximately $80.06 million during the same quarter. Other institutions such as Councilmark Asset Management LLC and Hummer Financial Advisory Services have also acquired new stakes in Apple.

About Apple Inc.

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets a variety of consumer electronics and software, including smartphones, personal computers, and accessories. Their well-known products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad tablets, and wearables like the Apple Watch and AirPods.

UBS, Apple, Investment