Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Acquires 4,030 Shares of Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 4,030 shares, bringing its total to 1,245,752 shares, which represent about 4.5% of its holdings, valued at approximately $255.59 million.
• Apple recently reported earnings of $1.57 per share for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with revenues of $94.04 billion, a 9.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, which equates to an annual yield of 0.4%.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,245,752 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 4,030 shares during the quarter. Apple makes up approximately 4.5% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $255,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Apple by 35.4% during the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 928,218 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $190,442,000 after acquiring an additional 242,435 shares during the period. Envision Financial LLC lifted its position in Apple by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. Envision Financial LLC now owns 2,573 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the period. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Apple by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 58,879 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $12,362,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Apple by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,695 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $6,503,000 after acquiring an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Finally, Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the second quarter valued at approximately $700,000. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL opened at $255.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.11. Apple Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.21 and a fifty-two week high of $260.10. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $228.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.22.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $94.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.64 billion. Apple had a net margin of 24.30% and a return on equity of 170.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.40 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 14th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Apple's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AAPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Apple from $173.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Apple from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Apple from $223.00 to $241.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $266.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $240.00 target price (up previously from $230.00) on shares of Apple in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $245.66.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Deirdre O'brien sold 34,821 shares of Apple stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.20, for a total value of $7,772,047.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 136,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,508,538.40. This trade represents a 20.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

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.

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