Apple Inc. $AAPL Shares Bought by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management increased its Apple stake by 0.4% in the first quarter, buying 5,015 shares and bringing its total holdings to 1,364,565 shares valued at about $346.3 million.
• Apple continues to attract broad institutional support, with 67.73% of shares held by institutions and hedge funds, even as some funds made only modest position changes.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive: Apple has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $327.40, while recent earnings beat expectations and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,364,565 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 5,015 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up 4.7% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $346,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AAPL. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its stake in Apple by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Apple by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,351,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Apple by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Interactive Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Apple by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC now owns 2,029 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Investment Co increased its position in Apple by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Orion Investment Co now owns 14,354 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $3,902,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Apple

In other news, insider Ben Borders sold 116 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.14, for a total transaction of $34,236.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,425,754.82. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AAPL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Apple in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Tigress Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and set a $375.00 price target (up from $305.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $364.00 price objective on shares of Apple and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp cut Apple from a "sector weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Apple currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $327.40.

Apple Stock Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $333.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50 day moving average is $306.62 and its 200-day moving average is $279.01. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $201.50 and a 12-month high of $334.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.89 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.10.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $111.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 8.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 11th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Key Stories Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ford said it will embed Apple Maps into upcoming EVs, expanding Apple’s software reach and reinforcing the value of its ecosystem. Ford Embeds Apple Maps Directly into Upcoming EVs
• Positive Sentiment: Baird raised its price target on Apple and reiterated an Outperform rating, adding to bullish analyst momentum. Finviz
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Apple as outperforming the broader market, supported by strong ratings and a favorable chart setup ahead of earnings. Why is Apple stock outperforming the broader market?
• Neutral Sentiment: Apple was also the subject of discussion around upcoming product launches, AI features, and a possible device-leasing program, which could support demand but remain unconfirmed or longer-term in nature.
• Negative Sentiment: Some reports noted concerns that Apple’s valuation is stretched heading into earnings, and insider sales plus short-interest chatter may temper enthusiasm if results disappoint.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.