SCHEDULE 13G Amendment No. 4 Applera Corporation Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock Cusip #038020103 Cusip #038020103 Item 1: Reporting Person - FMR Corp. Item 4: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Item 5: 268,430 Item 6: 0 Item 7: 13,744,442 Item 8: 0 Item 9: 13,744,442 Item 11: 6.485% Item 12: HC Cusip #038020103 Item 1: Reporting Person - Edward C. Johnson 3d Item 4: United States of America Item 5: 0 Item 6: 0 Item 7: 13,744,442 Item 8: 0 Item 9: 13,744,442 Item 11: 6.485% Item 12: IN Cusip #038020103 Item 1: Reporting Person - Abigail P. Johnson Item 4: United States of America Item 5: None Item 6: None Item 7: 13,744,442 Item 8: None Item 9: 13,744,442 Item 11: 6.485% Item 12: IN SCHEDULE 13G - TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 13d-1(b) or 13d-2(b) Item 1(a). Name of Issuer: Applera Corporation Item 1(b). Name of Issuer's Principal Executive Offices: 761 Main Avenue Norwalk, CT 06859-0001 Item 2(a). Name of Person Filing: FMR Corp. Item 2(b). Address or Principal Business Office or, if None, Residence: 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109 Item 2(c). Citizenship: Not applicable Item 2(d). Title of Class of Securities: Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock Item 2(e). CUSIP Number: 038020103 Item 3. This statement is filed pursuant to Rule 13d-1(b) or 13d-2(b) and the person filing, FMR Corp., is a parent holding company in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G). (Note: See Item 7). Item 4. Ownership (a) Amount Beneficially Owned: 13,744,442 (b) Percent of Class: 6.485% (c) Number of shares as to which such person has: (i) sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 268,430 (ii) shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (iii) sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 13,744,442 (iv) shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 Item 5. Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class. Not applicable. Item 6. Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person. Various persons have the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, the Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock of Applera Corporation. No one person's interest in the Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock of Applera Corporation is more than five percent of the total outstanding Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock. Item 7. Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary Which Acquired the Security Being Reported on By the Parent Holding Company. See attached Exhibit(s) A, B. Item 8. Identification and Classification of Members of the Group. Not Applicable. See attached Exhibit A. Item 9. Notice of Dissolution of Group. Not applicable. Item 10. Certification. By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the securities referred to above were acquired in the ordinary course of business and were not acquired for the purpose of and do not have the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of such securities and were not acquired in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having such purpose or effect. Signature After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this Schedule 13G in connection with FMR Corp.'s beneficial ownership of the Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock of Applera Corporation at December 31, 2001 is true, complete and correct. February 14, 2002 Date /s/Eric D. Roiter Signature Eric D. Roiter Duly authorized under Power of Attorney dated December 30, 1997 by and on behalf of FMR Corp. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries SCHEDULE 13G - TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 13d-1(b) or 13d-2(b) Pursuant to the instructions in Item 7 of Schedule 13G, Fidelity Management & Research Company ("Fidelity"), 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR Corp. and an investment adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, is the beneficial owner of 13,447,962 shares or 6.345% of the Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock outstanding of Applera Corporation ("the Company") as a result of acting as investment adviser to various investment companies registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940. Edward C. Johnson 3d, FMR Corp., through its control of Fidelity, and the funds each has sole power to dispose of the 13,447,962 shares owned by the Funds. Neither FMR Corp. nor Edward C. Johnson 3d, Chairman of FMR Corp., has the sole power to vote or direct the voting of the shares owned directly by the Fidelity Funds, which power resides with the Funds' Boards of Trustees. Fidelity carries out the voting of the shares under written guidelines established by the Funds' Boards of Trustees. Fidelity Management Trust Company, 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02109, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR Corp. and a bank as defined in Section 3(a)(6) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, is the beneficial owner of 296,431 shares or 0.140% of the Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock outstanding of the Company as a result of its serving as investment manager of the institutional account(s). Edward C. Johnson 3d and FMR Corp., through its control of Fidelity Management Trust Company, each has sole dispositive power over 296,431 shares and sole power to vote or to direct the voting of 267,931 shares, and no power to vote or to direct the voting of 28,500 shares of Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock owned by the institutional account(s) as reported above. Strategic Advisers, Inc., 82 Devonshire Street, Boston, MA 02109, a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR Corp. and an investment adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, provides investment advisory services to individuals. It does not have sole power to vote or direct the voting of shares of certain securities held for clients and has sole dispositive power over such securities. As such, FMR Corp.'s beneficial ownership includes 49 shares, or 0.000%, of the Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock stock outstanding of Applera Corporation, beneficially owned through Strategic Advisers, Inc. Members of the Edward C. Johnson 3d family are the predominant owners of Class B shares of common stock of FMR Corp., representing approximately 49% of the voting power of FMR Corp. Mr. Johnson 3d owns 12.0% and Abigail Johnson owns 24.5% of the aggregate outstanding voting stock of FMR Corp. Mr. Johnson 3d is Chairman of FMR Corp. and Abigail P. Johnson is a Director of FMR Corp. The Johnson family group and all other Class B shareholders have entered into a shareholders' voting agreement under which all Class B shares will be voted in accordance with the majority vote of Class B shares. Accordingly, through their ownership of voting common stock and the execution of the shareholders' voting agreement, members of the Johnson family may be deemed, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, to form a controlling group with respect to FMR Corp. SCHEDULE 13G - TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT TO RULE 13d-1(b) or 13d-2(b) RULE 13d-1(f)(1) AGREEMENT The undersigned persons, on February 14, 2002, agree and consent to the joint filing on their behalf of this Schedule 13G in connection with their beneficial ownership of the Applied Biosystems Group Common Stock of Applera Corporation at December 31, 2001. FMR Corp. By /s/Eric D. Roiter Eric D. Roiter Duly authorized under Power of Attorney dated December 30, 1997, by and on behalf of FMR Corp. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries Edward C. Johnson 3d By /s/Eric D. Roiter Eric D. Roiter Duly authorized under Power of Attorney dated December 30, 1997, by and on behalf of Edward C. Johnson 3d Abigail P. Johnson By /s/Eric D. Roiter Eric D. Roiter Duly authorized under Power of Attorney dated December 30, 1997, by and on behalf of Abigail P. Johnson Fidelity Management & Research Company By /s/Eric D. Roiter Eric D. Roiter Senior V.P. and General Counsel