“On March 19th of this year Apple (AAPL) announced that it will begin paying a $2.65/share dividend to shareholders beginning in the quarter starting with July 1, 2012. With Apple’s earnings release on Tuesday July 24th, we may also learn when the first dividend will be paid during the July to September period,” John W. McAuley writes for Seeking Alpha.
“Once the payment date is announced, many conservative mutual funds, institutions and investors will begin plans to accumulate Apple shares for the first time,” McAuley writes. “However, it is Apple’s high surplus cash position on its balance sheet (~$100 billion) and its annual cash-flow growth which will drive dividend payouts higher in the future.”
McAuley writes, “The annual dividend of $10.60/share will cost Apple about $10 billion per year. This is currently less than 25% of their annual earnings. I believe Apple will likely double their current dividend payout over the next 5 years.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: In addition, Apple’s BoD has authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program commencing in the company’s fiscal 2013, which begins on September 30, 2012. The share repurchase program is expected to be executed over three years, with the primary objective of neutralizing the impact of dilution from future employee equity grants and employee stock purchase programs.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl H.” for the heads up.]
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