Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Purchases 1,749 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 776,229 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,749 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up about 10.7% of Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Apple were worth $149,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AAPL. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Apple by 116,483.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 569,554,722 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $74,002,245,000 after buying an additional 569,066,184 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter valued at $21,746,940,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Apple by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 208,655,323 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $27,110,586,000 after buying an additional 25,926,552 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Apple by 60.0% in the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,932,352 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $9,103,464,000 after buying an additional 17,604,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 154.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 23,295,770 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $1,729,270,000 after buying an additional 14,157,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In related news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total transaction of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,768,046.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,068,376.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 1.2 %

AAPL stock opened at $165.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.55 trillion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $174.67 and a 200-day moving average of $182.11. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $162.80 and a fifty-two week high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The iPhone maker reported $2.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $119.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $117.99 billion. Apple had a return on equity of 156.04% and a net margin of 26.16%. Apple’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 9th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered Apple from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Apple from $160.00 to $158.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Apple from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Maxim Group began coverage on Apple in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $178.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.34.

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.