Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Sells 3,121 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lessened its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,099 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 3,121 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 3.2% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $8,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AAPL. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Apple in the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in Apple during the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AAPL stock traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $213.32. 55,559,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 56,562,730. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.20 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.11 and a 12-month high of $260.10. The company's 50-day moving average price is $213.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.95.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 160.83%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 35,493 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.01, for a total value of $7,950,786.93. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 390,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $87,377,116.59. This represents a 8.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total value of $24,184,616.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 187,021 shares of company stock valued at $41,760,140 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on AAPL. Oppenheimer cut shares of Apple from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Apple from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $188.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Apple from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.63.

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.