Apple Inc. $AAPL Stock Holdings Lifted by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital increased its Apple stake by 10.4% in Q4 to 1,359,550 shares (worth about $369.6M), making AAPL its third-largest holding and 5.9% of the firm's portfolio.
• Insider selling: CEO Tim Cook sold 64,949 shares (~$16.5M) and SVP Deirdre O’Brien sold 30,002 shares (~$7.7M) on April 2 under pre-arranged Rule 10b5‑1 plans, reducing their ownership.
• Company results and outlook: Apple beat quarterly EPS and revenue (EPS $2.84 vs $2.67 estimate; revenue $143.76B, +15.7% YoY), while analysts show a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of about $297.58 and a market cap near $3.76T.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,359,550 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after buying an additional 127,955 shares during the period. Apple makes up 5.9% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $369,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Bank boosted its holdings in Apple by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Bank now owns 29,034 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $7,893,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. NerdWallet Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,593,000. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors LLC now owns 29,722 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $8,080,000 after purchasing an additional 1,849 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP raised its position in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 132,419 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $35,999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roble Belko & Company Inc boosted its stake in Apple by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 5,808 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 789 shares in the last quarter. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AAPL shares. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $315.00 price target (down from $330.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $297.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total value of $16,511,984.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,280,418 shares in the company, valued at $833,980,668.14. This represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 30,002 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.35, for a total value of $7,661,010.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 136,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,934,433.50. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Apple News

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Top investor endorsement — Billionaire Ken Griffin lists Apple among his five best stock picks, highlighting institutional conviction and potential buying support. 5 Best Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Ken Griffin
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst backing — Bank of America reiterates a Buy and cites accelerating services growth and on‑device AI upside, supporting a premium valuation thesis and positive analyst flow. Apple: Accelerating Services Growth and On‑Device AI Upside Support Premium Valuation and Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: U.S. manufacturing boost — Apple expands its U.S. manufacturing program with a reported $400M investment, a politically favorable move that can reduce supply risk and support margin/PR. Apple Inc. (AAPL) expands US manufacturing program with $400M investment
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive narrative around Apple at 50 — Extensive coverage of Apple’s 50th anniversary reminds investors of the company’s long-term durability, but raises governance/succession questions that are medium‑term rather than catalytic. Apple At 50 Weighs AI Partnerships Satellite Ties And Succession
• Neutral Sentiment: AI positioning debate — Coverage highlights a strategic pivot toward opening Siri to third‑party AI assistants and other AI moves; this reduces long-term AI execution risk but timing and monetization remain uncertain. Apple's AI Strategy Is Pivoting. Here's Why That Could Be Great News for the Stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Satellite dependency risk — Reports that Amazon is in talks to buy Globalstar (Apple’s satellite partner for Emergency SOS/messaging) raise competitive and supply‑chain uncertainty for Apple’s satellite features. Amazon Lines Up Deal to Rival SpaceX's Starlink: Report. Why Apple Could Be a Problem.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation pressure — Commentary points to a rich trailing and forward P/E (high 20s–30s) that’s prompting profit‑taking and making AAPL sensitive to any slowdown in growth or disappointment on AI execution. Is Apple Stock Overvalued Or Undervalued?
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical / macro risk — Headlines about potential targeting of U.S. tech firms and broader Mag‑7 weakness amplify downside risk if tensions or macro selloffs persist. AAPL Stock on Watch: Iran Threatens Retaliatory Strikes Could Hit Apple Next

Apple Stock Performance

AAPL opened at $255.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Apple Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.21 and a 12-month high of $288.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $260.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.11.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The iPhone maker reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.67 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $143.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.25 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.04% and a return on equity of 159.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 9th. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.15%.

About Apple

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.

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