Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 57,572 Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) by 13.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 375,168 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock after selling 57,572 shares during the period. Apple makes up about 2.1% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Apple were worth $53,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the first quarter worth approximately $1,924,000. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 13,481 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,561,000 after buying an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,625,709,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Apple by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 147,469 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $20,613,000 after buying an additional 8,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Apple during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,910,000. 61.13% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) opened at 156.39 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.04 and a 200 day moving average of $142.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $808.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76 and a beta of 1.31. Apple Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.53 and a 52 week high of $157.40.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The iPhone maker reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.10. Apple had a return on equity of 35.40% and a net margin of 20.87%. The company had revenue of $45.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Apple Inc. will post $9.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Apple’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.64%.

Apple announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the iPhone maker to buy up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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A number of equities analysts recently commented on AAPL shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Apple from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities set a $120.00 target price on Apple and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Monday, July 10th. Goldman Sachs Group Inc reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target (up from $164.00) on shares of Apple in a report on Friday, May 12th. Finally, Cowen and Company reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Apple in a report on Thursday, May 25th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. The stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.57.

In other news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.88, for a total value of $5,385,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,168,283 shares in the company, valued at $179,775,388.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel J. Riccio sold 11,949 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.86, for a total transaction of $1,707,034.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 230,500 shares of company stock worth $35,357,246. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

About Apple

Apple Inc (Apple) designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. The Company’s products and services include iPhone, iPad, Mac, iPod, Apple TV, a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the iOS and OS X operating systems, iCloud, and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings.