Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's 5th Largest Position

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,653,858 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after selling 1,894,620 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises approximately 2.1% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.18% of Apple worth $6,674,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Drystone LLC bought a new position in Apple in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Apple in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Apple during the third quarter worth $71,000. Pillar Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Apple during the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Apple in the 4th quarter worth $96,000. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 38,822 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.67, for a total transaction of $8,683,316.74. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 179,158 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,072,269.86. This trade represents a 17.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 108,136 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.65, for a total transaction of $24,184,616.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,295 shares of the company's stock, valued at $733,637,976.75. This trade represents a 3.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 191,507 shares of company stock valued at $42,694,080 over the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on Apple to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Apple from $270.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Apple to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $234.86.

Apple Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Apple stock traded up $0.06 on Thursday, hitting $198.84. 14,546,869 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 55,449,083. 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 market cap of $2.97 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.56, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $200.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $223.60. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.21 and a 52 week high of $260.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 160.83% and a net margin of 24.30%. The business had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. Apple's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to reacquire up to 3.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Apple's dividend payout ratio is 16.20%.

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.