Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s 4th Largest Position

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,548,478 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 285,872 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.0% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.19% of Apple worth $6,651,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC raised its stake in Apple by 3,891.7% in the third quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 1,736,650 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $404,639,000 after buying an additional 1,693,144 shares in the last quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Apple by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Running Point Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,646 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $3,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Tradewinds LLC. raised its position in shares of Apple by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 80,569 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $18,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Apple by 6.8% during the third quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 183,768 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $42,818,000 after purchasing an additional 11,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Apple by 52.4% in the third quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 22,025 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $5,132,000 after purchasing an additional 7,574 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Apple to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $260.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Apple from $286.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 target price on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Maxim Group raised their price target on Apple from $203.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jeffrey E. Williams sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.97, for a total transaction of $24,997,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 389,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,474,301.68. This trade represents a 20.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.87, for a total value of $945,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,528,946.53. The trade was a 21.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ AAPL opened at $237.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $241.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.81. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $164.07 and a 52 week high of $260.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.57 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.04. Apple had a return on equity of 152.94% and a net margin of 23.97%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.45%.

Apple 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.