Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 87,284 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 7.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,163,799 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 87,284 shares during the period. Apple comprises 5.7% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $271,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AAPL. Hershey Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 306 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Cordant Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cordant Inc. now owns 678 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hoese & Co LLP now owns 912 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $175,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sage Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Apple in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $206,000. 67.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 223,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.46, for a total value of $50,275,897.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 3,280,180 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,269,202.80. This represents a 6.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Katherine L. Adams sold 61,019 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.20, for a total transaction of $13,802,497.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 187,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,309,126.60. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 408,170 shares of company stock valued at $92,007,745. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Apple Price Performance

AAPL opened at $248.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.07 and a 12 month high of $250.80. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $232.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 trillion, a P/E ratio of 40.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The business had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Apple’s payout ratio is presently 16.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AAPL. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on Apple from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, KeyCorp cut shares of Apple from a “sector weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, twenty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.78.

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.