Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Grows Holdings in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 749,682 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after acquiring 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.7% in the third quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 64,015 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $14,916,000 after buying an additional 1,066 shares during the period. Amara Financial LLC. purchased a new stake in Apple in the 3rd quarter worth about $288,000. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 69,824 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,269,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares during the period. Silicon Valley Capital Partners lifted its holdings in Apple by 12.8% during the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 253,743 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $59,122,000 after purchasing an additional 28,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Apple by 4.2% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 96,589 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $22,505,000 after purchasing an additional 3,935 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AAPL opened at $214.10 on Friday. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.08 and a 12 month high of $260.10. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $232.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.33. The company has a market cap of $3.22 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.18.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 earnings per share 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, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AAPL. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Apple from $253.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Apple to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Apple from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.65.

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.