Apple (AAPL) Investors Await a Minimum 10% Dividend Hike, $25-$35B Repurchase Addition and News on Repatriation

In addition to earnings on Tuesday (05/02), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is expected to raise its dividend and stock repurchase plan.

Since reintroducing the dividend in 2012, Apple has raised its dividend each year for the past four years and this year would make it five. On average the company's dividend hike has been around 11%, with the highest raise 15% in 2013 and the lowest of 8% in 2014. If Apple again raises its quarterly dividend 11% investors will be looking at a quarterly payout of $0.63 per share, or a dividend yield of 1.7% based on the current share price. Apple has shown with its past dividend hikes that it likes to get the yield in the low to mid-2% range, so a higher dividend hike this time around shouldn't be ruled out. To get the yield back above 2%, the dividend would have to be at least $0.73 - which would suggest a hike of 28%.

On the buyback, last year the company raised the current stock repurchase plan by $35 billion - to $175 billion from $140 billion. As of December 31, 2016, $144 billion of the current plan had been utilized. The company has been buying back $4.4 billion in stock each quarter over the past five quarters. Assuming this remains, the company may have utilized ~$148 billion of the current, leaving $27 billion. When they raised the buyback last year $23 billion was remaining and they increased it to $58 billion remaining. Since Apple likes rounds numbers, they may ratchet it up by $25-$35 billion this time around.

Repatriation is another topic that is top of mind to Apple investors given the company's $246 billion-and growing cash hoard, mostly held overseas. In President Trump's recently outlined tax plan, he is proposing a one-time tax on dollars held overseas. However, with the plan still in flux Apple will not likely have much to say at this point about the massive hoard.

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