Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC Has $2.08 Million Stock Position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC cut its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,805 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 115 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 0.6% of Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Franklin Parlapiano Turner & Welch LLC’s holdings in Apple were worth $2,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AAPL. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Apple by 14,395.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 70,700,395 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $136,119,470,000 after acquiring an additional 70,212,651 shares during the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth about $560,388,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Apple during the 3rd quarter worth about $487,435,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 49,759,061 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $8,519,244,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 206,732,960 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $35,394,751,000 after buying an additional 2,018,010 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.41% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AAPL opened at $182.40 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.78. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.26. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $199.62.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a return on equity of 148.33% and a net margin of 26.31%. The business had revenue of $90.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Apple’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 6.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 10th. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Apple’s payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Apple announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $110.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Redburn Partners lowered shares of Apple to a “neutral” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Apple from $158.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Apple from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. DZ Bank reissued a “hold” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.11.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.12, for a total transaction of $9,262,139.28. Following the sale, 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 available through this link. In other news, SVP Deirdre O’brien sold 54,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.91, for a total value of $9,244,782.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 136,572 shares in the company, valued at $23,068,376.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Luca Maestri sold 53,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,768,046.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 366,271 shares of company stock valued at $63,653,887. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.