Peninsula Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,600 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Peninsula Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,006 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Apple accounts for approximately 6.5% of Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $12,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC acquired a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $82,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $195.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.21 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $205.04 and its 200-day moving average is $225.94.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. The company had revenue of $95.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a positive change from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 179,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares in the company, valued at $733,637,976.75. The trade was a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 in the last 90 days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AAPL. Redburn Partners set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup restated a “cautious” rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on shares of Apple from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Scotiabank cut shares of Apple to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $170.62 target price (up previously from $167.88) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.80.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. 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.