Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Holdings Decreased by Parsec Financial Management Inc.

Parsec Financial Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 737,286 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 13,600 shares during the period. Apple comprises 4.3% of Parsec Financial Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Parsec Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $95,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,995,750 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $221,753,959,000 after buying an additional 8,734,393 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Apple by 1.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 80,739,774 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,097,970,000 after buying an additional 1,155,915 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Apple by 13.1% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 71,060,708 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $12,407,910,000 after buying an additional 8,230,300 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Apple by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,874,884 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $7,779,544,000 after buying an additional 698,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Apple by 0.9% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 48,826,270 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $8,525,555,000 after buying an additional 424,839 shares during the last quarter. 57.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total value of $29,991,744.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 489,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 187,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.76, for a total transaction of $29,991,744.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 489,816 shares in the company, valued at $78,253,004.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total transaction of $32,984.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 177,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,299,192.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 439,529 shares of company stock worth $71,703,657. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.1 %

Apple stock opened at $175.16 on Monday. Apple Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.17 and a twelve month high of $176.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.29.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The iPhone maker reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.08. Apple had a return on equity of 165.72% and a net margin of 24.49%. The business had revenue of $94.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 4th that permits the company to repurchase $90.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the iPhone maker to buy up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is 16.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AAPL shares. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Apple from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price target on Apple from $174.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $145.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 26th. Atlantic Securities boosted their price target on Apple from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $125.00 price objective on Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twenty-seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.74.

Apple Profile

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Apple, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and sale of smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and other varieties of related services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, Greater China, Japan, and Rest of Asia Pacific. The Americas segment includes North and South America.