Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Acquires 8,362 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,241,722 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 8,362 shares during the quarter. Apple comprises 5.4% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Apple were worth $275,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Apple by 0.6% in the first quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 14,401 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,199,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,332 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $2,337,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 2.8% in the first quarter. TruWealth Advisors LLC now owns 189,282 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $42,045,000 after buying an additional 5,120 shares during the period. Allstate Corp lifted its stake in Apple by 3,368.2% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 451,489 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $113,062,000 after buying an additional 438,471 shares during the period. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Apple by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 764,075 shares of the iPhone maker's stock valued at $192,700,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.73% of the company's stock.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.11. 42,208,439 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 53,247,209. The company has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $203.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.50. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.03. Apple had a return on equity of 167.24% and a net margin of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $95.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to repurchase up to 3.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Apple's payout ratio is presently 16.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Apple news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,486 shares of Apple stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $933,940.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 15,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,233,815.27. The trade was a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevan Parekh sold 4,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $941,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 4,569 shares in the company, valued at approximately $941,214. The trade was a 50.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays set a $173.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Apple to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp upgraded Apple from an "underweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Apple from $230.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Apple in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Apple has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.27.

Apple Company 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.