The shares of Apple Computer AAPL, +1.50% have pulled back, along with the overall market as of late. They hit a high of $422 per share five weeks ago, and they are now trading at $363.57. That is a pullback of 13.8%. During that same period, the S & P 500 is down just 5.4%.

A lot has happened at Apple's address of 1 Infinite Loop, in Cupertino during the third quarter of 2011. Its founder and chief visionary Steve Jobs passed away, the leadership baton was handed off to Tim Cook, the company reported earnings that for a change, did not live up to analyst's expectations, and many of Apple's competitors have entered into the tablet wars. If that is not enough, the company also released its latest version of the smart phone, iPhone 4s.

With all that has happened at the company, no wonder investors have paused to re-evaluate the stock. With the shares now almost 14% cheaper than they were just five weeks ago, it is a good time to step back and look at where the stock is at now from a performance and valuation point-of-view.

Over the last 10 years, the shares of Apple have delivered an average annual return of 43.5% per year. This puts Apple at number 17 among the 2,700 stocks that I follow.

Over the last five years, the shares of Apple have delivered an average total return of 32.0% per year. This performance places Apple in the top 25 of all the stocks I cover.

The stock has also quite handily beaten the S&P 500 over the last 3 years and 12 months. In fact when I tally up the long-term, intermediate term, and short-term performance of Apple and compare it with 2,700 other stocks, the stock achieves an overall performance grade of "A."

With the recent pullback in the stock, Apple's shares only earn a current momentum grade of D+, however.

It should also be noted that during the market stress of 2008, Apple was down a whopping 56.9%, while the S& P 500 was down 38.5%. Apple is not exactly a defensive stock that holds up well during times of market duress.

It is pretty hard to argue with the performance of the shares of Apple. Apple has been one of the great stocks of the decade, yet the recent pullback in the shares is cause for

concern. This is where we have to turn to the current valuation of the shares:

Apple currently has a PE ratio of 13 and a forward PE ratio of just 9.51. Apple's earnings have grown at an astonishing rate of 60% per year over the last five years, and according to the army of analysts that follow the stock are expected to average 19% growth over the next five years.

Over the last four quarters, Apple's earnings have grown by 75%, 92%, 122%, and 52% respectively , I don't think that 19% growth going forward is out of line. With a forward PE ratio of 9.51, and an expected growth rate of 19%, Apple's PEG ratio is 0.50. It is not easy to find cheap PEG ratios like this, especially among great growth stocks like Apple.

Apple earned less than $0.10 per share ten years ago, just over $9.00 per share five years ago, over $15.00 per share three years ago, and the company is expected to make $38.59 per share next year. Again, we have quite remarkable evidence of the astonishing growth at Apple that has made it one of the great growth stocks of all time.

If the guidance that the company has given to the analysts is even close to being correct, the company will be earning $77.94 per share, five years from now. I know that sounds like a big number, but consider that the earnings have gone from less than $0.10 per share ten years ago, to a current expectation of $38.59 per share next year.

As a professional money manager, I am asked the following question all of the time: "Don't companies mislead analysts in order to pump up their stock price?" Having been an analyst for a number of years, the answer is an emphatic no! In this litigious environment, the vast majority of companies, if anything try to talk down expectations.

Stocks trade on expectations, until those numbers change. The current expectations are for just under $78 per share in earnings for Apple, five years from now. Now, what kind of multiple will those earnings deserve if indeed they are achieved?

The stocks currently has an earnings multiple (PE) of 13. Over the last four quarters, the PE ratio has ranged between 12 and 18. Over the last five years, the average PE of Apple has been 13.6.

I am using a multiple of 10.5 to calculate a five year target price of just over $818 per share. I am a bit different in that I like to look at five-year target prices instead of shorter term, 6-12 month target prices.

When we learned to drive, we were most likely told to keep our eyes further on down the road instead of the end of our hood. If we did that, it would be easier for us to steer a straighter course.

I have owned the shares of Apple for a long time. The shares have been very good to me. Along the way, I have to ride through countless pullbacks like the one that the stock is going through now.

The bottom line is this however, there is currently not a cheaper quality growth stock in the entire market. Take your eyes of the end of the year, and look out further down the road!

The author is long AAPL.