How to buy Apple (AAPL) shares in the UK

How do you like them Apples? Learn how to invest in the iconic tech company with more money than the US treasury.

How to buy Apple shares Compare share dealing platforms
Apple Inc
NASDAQ: AAPL - USD
CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
$148.56
+$1.76 (+1.20%)
Fact checked

The global stock market experienced significant losses in late March due to the coronavirus outbreak. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares didn't escape the sell-off, with the AAPL share price dropping from its previous all-time high in February due to supplier constraints.

But Apple bounced back, and cruised to a new all-time high in early June on the back of new phone releases and praise from analysts about its in-house development capabilities.

In case you somehow didn't know, Apple is an American technology company based in California and one of the most valuable companies in the world. Apple is part of the world's “Big Tech” companies with Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Netflix. These are sometimes referred to as "FAANG" stocks.

How to buy shares in Apple

  1. Choose a platform. If you're a beginner, our share-dealing table below can help you choose.
  2. Open your account. You'll need your ID, bank details and national insurance number.
  3. Confirm your payment details. You'll need to fund your account with a bank transfer, debit card or credit card.
  4. Search the platform for stock code: AAPL in this case.
  5. Research Apple shares. The platform should provide the latest information available.
  6. Buy your Apple shares. It's that simple.
The whole process can take as little as 15 minutes.

What's in this guide?

  1. Can I buy shares in Apple?
  2. Has coronavirus impacted Apple shares?
  3. Apple shares summary
  4. Compare share dealing platforms
  5. Is Apple stock a buy or sell?
  6. Performance over time
  7. Can I short Apple shares?
  8. Is Apple suitable for ethical investing?
  9. Are Apple shares over-valued?
  10. Financials
  11. How volatile are Apple shares?
  12. Does Apple pay a dividend?
  13. Have Apple shares ever split?
  14. Other common questions

How has coronavirus impacted Apple's share price?

Since the stock market crash that started in February 2020, Apple's share price has had significant positive movement.

Its last market close was $125.89, which is 37.83% up on its pre-crash value of $78.26 (accounting for the 30 August 2020 split) and 136.86% up on the lowest point reached during the March 2020 crash when the shares fell as low as $53.15 (accounting for the 30 August 2020 split).

If you had bought $1,000 worth of Apple shares at the start of February 2020, those shares would have been worth $726.96 at the bottom of the March crash, and if you held on to them, then as of the last market close they'd be worth $1,631.53.

Apple share price (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Use our graph to track the performance of AAPL stocks over time.

Apple shares at a glance

Information last updated 2021-07-23.
Open$147.55
High$148.7113
Low$146.92
Close$148.56
Previous close$146.8
Change$1.76
Change %1.1989%
Volume71,447,416
Information last updated 2021-07-22.
52-week range$92.6234 - $150
50-day moving average$135.8612
200-day moving average$130.5291
Wall St. target price$159.34
PE ratio32.9962
Dividend yield$0.82 (0.56%)
Earnings per share (TTM)$4.449
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Fees for buying 5x Apple shares with popular platforms

Both exchange rates and share prices fluctuate in real time, so the costs presented here should be considered as a guide only. They do not incorporate stamp duty. Always refer to the platform itself for availability and pricing – which may differ from our information.

Platform Platform fee Min. initial deposit Trading fee estimate
eToro Free Stocks logo £0 $200 £2.70
£542.79 total
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Fineco logo £0 No minimum £5.40
£545.49 total
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Freetrade logo £0 No minimum £2.43
£542.52 total
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Degiro Share Dealing logo £0 £0.01 £0.98
£541.07 total
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Stake logo £0 £50 £2.72
£542.80 total
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Hargreaves Lansdown Fund and Share Account logo £0 £1 £17.37
£557.46 total
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interactive investor Trading Account logo £9.99 per month No minimum £16.11
£556.20 total
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Halifax Share Dealing Account logo £36 per year £20 £16.27
£556.36 total
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Full comparison of share dealing platforms

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.

Is it a good time to buy Apple stock?

The technical analysis gauge below displays real-time ratings for the timeframes you select. This is not a recommendation, however. It represents a technical analysis based on the most popular technical indicators: Moving Averages, Oscillators and Pivots. Finder might not concur and takes no responsibility.

Apple price performance over time

Historical closes compared with the last close of $148.56

1 month (2021-06-25) 11.61%
1 year (2020-07-21) inf%
2 years (2019-07-21) inf%
3 years (2018-07-21) inf%
5 years (2016-07-21) inf%

Is Apple under- or over-valued?

Valuing a stock is incredibly difficult, and any metric has to be viewed as part of a bigger picture of overall performance. However, analysts commonly use some key metrics to help gauge value.

P/E ratio

Apple's current share price divided by its per-share earnings (EPS) over a 12-month period gives a "trailing price/earnings ratio" of roughly 33x. In other words, Apple shares trade at around 33x recent earnings.

That's relatively high compared to, say, the trailing 12-month P/E ratio for the NASDAQ 100 at the end of 2019 (27.29). The high P/E ratio could mean that investors are optimistic about the outlook for the shares or simply that they're over-valued.

However, Apple's P/E ratio is best considered in relation to those of others within the consumer electronics industry or those of similar companies.

PEG ratio

Apple's "price/earnings-to-growth ratio" can be calculated by dividing its P/E ratio by its growth – to give 2.2648. A PEG ratio over 1 can be interpreted as meaning shares are overvalued at the current rate of growth, or may anticipate an acceleration in growth.

The PEG ratio provides a broader view than just the P/E ratio, as it gives more insight into Apple's future profitability. By accounting for growth, it could also help you if you're comparing the share prices of multiple high-growth companies.

However, it's sensible to consider Apple's PEG ratio in relation to those of similar companies.

EBITDA

Apple's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) is a whopping $99.8 billion (£72.6 billion).

The EBITDA is a measure of a Apple's overall financial performance and is widely used to measure a its profitability.

To put that into context you can compare it against similar companies.

Financials

Revenue TTM $325.4 billion
Operating margin TTM 27.32%
Gross profit TTM $105 billion
Return on assets TTM 16.9%
Return on equity TTM 103.4%
Profit margin 23.45%
Book value $4.146
Market capitalisation $2.4 trillion

TTM: trailing 12 months

How to short and sell Apple shares

  1. Create a CFD or spread betting account.
  2. Search for the stock code. E.g. "AAPL.US"
  3. Choose your position size.
  4. Select "sell" rather than "buy".
  5. Confirm your position and keep tabs on it. You may wish to set limits on your position.

There are currently 90.2 million Apple shares held short by investors – that's known as the "short interest". This figure is 17.2% down from 108.9 million last month.

There are a few different ways that this level of interest in shorting Apple shares can be evaluated.

Short interest ratio (SIR)

Apple's "short interest ratio" (SIR) is the quantity of Apple shares currently shorted divided by the average quantity of Apple shares traded daily (recently around 72.8 million). Apple's SIR currently stands at 1.24. In other words for every 100,000 Apple shares traded daily on the market, roughly 1240 shares are currently held short.

To gain some more context, you can compare Apple's short interest ratio against those of similar companies.

However Apple's short interest can also be evaluated against the total number of Apple shares, or, against the total number of tradable Apple shares (the shares that aren't held by "insiders" or major long-term shareholders – also known as the "float"). In this case Apple's short interest could be expressed as 0.01% of the outstanding shares (for every 100,000 Apple shares in existence, roughly 10 shares are currently held short) or 0.0054% of the tradable shares (for every 100,000 tradable Apple shares, roughly 5 shares are currently held short).

Such a low SIR usually points to an optimistic outlook for the share price, with fewer people currently willing to bet against Apple.

Find out more about how you can short Apple stock.

Environmental, social and governance track record

Environmental, social and governance (known as ESG) criteria are a set of three factors used to measure the sustainability and social impact of companies like Apple.

Total ESG risk score

Apple's total ESG risk: 26.15

Socially conscious investors use ESG scores to screen how an investment aligns with their worldview, and Apple's overall score of 26.15 (as at 12/31/2018) is pretty good – landing it in it in the 37th percentile of companies rated in the same sector.

ESG scores are increasingly used to estimate the level of risk a company like Apple is exposed to within the areas of "environmental" (carbon footprint, resource use etc.), "social" (health and safety, human rights etc.), and "governance" (anti-corruption, tax transparency etc.).

To gain some more context, you can compare Apple's total ESG risk score against those of similar companies.

Environmental score

Apple's environmental score: 0.99/100

Apple's environmental score of 0.99 puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Apple is a leader in its sector terms of its environmental impact, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Social score

Apple's social score: 13.98/100

Apple's social score of 13.98 puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. This could suggest that Apple is a leader in its sector when it comes to taking good care of its workforce and the communities it impacts.

Governance score

Apple's governance score: 11.18/100

Apple's governance score puts it squarely in the 5th percentile of companies rated in the same sector. That could suggest that Apple is a leader in its sector when it comes to responsible management and strategy, and exposed to a lower level of risk.

Controversy score

Apple's controversy score: 3/5

ESG scores also evaluate any incidences of controversy that a company has been involved in. A high-profile company, Apple scored a 3 out of 5 for controversy – a middle-of-the-table result reflecting that Apple hasn't always managed to keep its nose clean.

Wondering how that compares? Below are the controversy scores of similar companies.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) summary

Apple Inc was last rated for ESG on: 2019-01-01.

Total ESG score 26.15
Total ESG percentile 36.8
Environmental score 0.99
Environmental score percentile 5
Social score 13.98
Social score percentile 5
Governance score 11.18
Governance score percentile 5
Level of controversy 3

Apple share dividends

0.6%

Dividend yield: 0.56% of stock value

0.6%

Forward annual dividend yield: 0.61% of stock value

18.7%

Dividend payout ratio: 18.72% of net profits

Apple has recently paid out dividends equivalent to 0.56% of its share value annually.

Apple has paid out, on average, around 18.72% of recent net profits as dividends. That has enabled analysts to estimate a "forward annual dividend yield" of 0.61% of the current stock value. This means that over a year, based on recent payouts (which are sadly no guarantee of future payouts), shareholders could enjoy a 0.61% return on their shares, in the form of dividend payments. In Apple's case, that would currently equate to about $0.82 per share.

While Apple's payout ratio might seem low, this can signify that the company is investing more in its future growth.

Apple's most recent dividend payout was on 12 May 2021. The latest dividend was paid out to all shareholders who bought their shares by 6 May 2021 (the "ex-dividend date").

Apple's dividend yield is perhaps best considered in relation to those of similar companies.

Have Apple's shares ever split?

Apple's shares were split on a 4:1 basis on 30 August 2020. So if you had owned 1 share the day before before the split, the next day you'd have owned 4 shares. This wouldn't directly have changed the overall worth of your Apple shares – just the quantity. However, indirectly, the new 75% lower share price could have impacted the market appetite for Apple shares which in turn could have impacted Apple's share price.

Share price volatility

Over the last 12 months, Apple's shares have ranged in value from as little as $92.6234 up to $150. A popular way to gauge a stock's volatility is its "beta".

AAPL.US volatility(beta: 1.21)Avg. volatility(beta: 1.00)LowHigh

Beta is a measure of a share's volatility in relation to the market. The market (NASDAQ average) beta is 1, while Apple's is 1.2073. This would suggest that Apple's shares are a little bit more volatile than the average for this exchange and represent, relatively-speaking, a slightly higher risk (but potentially also market-beating returns).

To put Apple's beta into context you can compare it against those of similar companies.

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2 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    NickOctober 3, 2018

    Hi

    How do I buy stocks, preferably apple shares ? Can you recommend any stock brokers?

    Thanks

    Reply
      Avatarfinder Customer Care
      JoshuaOctober 4, 2018Staff

      Hi Nick,

      Thanks for getting in touch with finder. I hope all is well with you. :)

      If you want to buy stocks, you can check our list of brokers above. We can’t make a specific recommendation since we are a comparison website. However, you can use our table to compare your options based on different parameters. Once you found the right one for you, click on the “Go to site” green button to learn more.

      I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach us out again.

      Have a wonderful day!

      Cheers,
      Joshua

      Reply
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