Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s Largest Position

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 749,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 120,033 shares during the period. Apple makes up 10.2% of Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Apple were worth $187,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bull Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Apple by 252.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bull Oak Capital LLC now owns 155 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the third quarter worth $71,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Apple by 88.9% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new stake in shares of Apple in the third quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Apple in the third quarter valued at $110,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AAPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Apple to $236.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp restated an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Loop Capital cut Apple from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $214.10 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.08 and a 1 year high of $260.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 trillion, a PE ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

About Apple

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.