Editor’s Note: Related tickers: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)
Apple Inc. (AAPL) Hedge Fund King Once Again: The Media Was Wrong (InsiderMonkey)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is the hedge fund king once again. For the first quarter of 2013, 148 top-tier hedge funds held shares of the Cupertino-based tech giant in their equity portfolios, the same number that were long at the end of 2012. While the hedge fund industry is over 8,000 funds large in its entirety, we at Insider Monkey track the best of the best: 500 funds in total. This aggregate vote of confidence comes one day after many members of the media–and investors alike–reacted prematurely to individual hedge fund managers’ 13F filings, which indicate large investors’ stock picks on a quarterly basis. Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell by 3.4% yesterday, as reports trickled in that the likes of David Tepper‘s Appaloosa Management, Julian Robertson’s Tiger Management, and George Soros‘ Soros Fund Management, among others, had either sold off their entire positions, or made significant cuts.
Apple to distribute another $2.867 billion to shareholders via dividend (AppleInsider)
Shareholders “of record” on Monday May 13 will be paid today, although any shares changing hands must settle first, making the last day to have bought a share to qualify for the current dividend May 8. Flush with billions in cash it simply can’t spend fast enough, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) first announced plans for a dividend program a year ago last March, alongside a $10 billion share buyback program. It was the first time the company had paid a dividend in 17 years. Each quarter, the company initially stated it will pay its shareholders a $2.65 per share dividend. In its last earnings conference call, the company’s chief executive Tim Cook announced that, after paying out more than $10 billion over the past year in dividends, the company would launch “an aggressive plan that more than doubles the size of the [existing] capital return program” beginning this quarter.
$626M Verdict In Apple Patent Row Should Stand, Justices Told (Law360)
The lobbying group for inventors on Thursday joined the fight to reinstate a $625.5 million patent infringement verdict against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an appellate ruling that would “needlessly increas[e] the burden of proving direct infringement of process patents.” The United Inventors Association of America said the Supreme Court should grant Mirror Worlds LLC’s petition for review, which argues the Federal Circuit erred when it ruled that the software company hadn’t presented any evidence at trial that either Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) or its…
Apple’s Tim Cook fetches $610,000 in coffee meeting auction (Business-Standard)
A coffee date with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook fetched $610,000 for charity, according to press reports. An online auction generated 86 bids for the meeting at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Cupertino, California, headquarters with Cook, who is raising money for the Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, CNN reported yesterday. Charitybuzz.com, which organised the bidding, had estimated the event would raise $50,000. Glenda Felden, a spokeswoman for Charitybuzz, said the group would put out a statement with details about the winning bid after it had coordinated with all of the parties involved. Taking a cue from billionaire investor Warren Buffett, business leaders such as Cook and Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz are auctioning their time for charity. Buffett last year raised $3.46 million for the Glide Foundation.
Apple says App Store hit 50 billion downloads (StamfordAdvocate)
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) says its customers have downloaded more than 50 billon applications from its App Store since its launch in 2008. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) said Thursday that the 50 billionth download was a game called “Say the Same Thing” by Space Inch. The App Store had 500 apps when it first opened. It now has more than 850,000 individual apps for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. The store hit the 10 billion downloads mark in early 2011 and 25 billion in March 2012. The 50 billion milestone does not include updates or re-downloads. Apps range from newspapers and magazines to games, business tools and travel applications.
Why Apple needs to deliver another revolutionary gadget (StockHouse)
Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) have been under pressure this week after the head of a U.S. equity research firm said the stock should be trading at around $240. That’s well below the Wednesday close of $428.85, which leaves the company with a market cap of $402.5 billion, based on 938.6 billion shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $705.07 and $385.10. David Trainer, the CEO of Brentwood, TN.,-based New Constructs LLC said his bearish view is based on a rarely discussed metric known as return on invested capital. During an interview with CNBC, Trainer said the current stock price implies an ROIC of 124%.
Apple supplier Foxconn struggling to reduce work hours, monitor Says (TheStar)
Foxconn Technology Group faces a “challenging” task in trying to meet a July deadline for cutting work hours to comply with Chinese law, according to the labor monitor appointed by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), its largest customer. The assembler of iPhones and iPads has resolved 98 per cent of the 360 issues raised by the Washington-based Fair Labor Association, the group said in a report Wednesday. The company has improved safety conditions, including testing sprinklers and maintaining equipment, and increased membership in worker unions.
Stop Asking: Google Is Not the New Apple (Yahoo)
No, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is not the new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), in most important respects. The acceleration in Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) shares above $900 this month, its impressive 41% gain over the past six months, the appearance of a few $1,000 analyst price targets and the avid sponsorship of the stock’s fans have prompted renewed comparisons to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) massive surge-and-fizzle act last year. Sure, they are both widely owned stocks of intensely respected (and feared and resented) technology bellwethers. They each have gaudily high share prices undiminished by stock splits. The company names both end in “-le.” Yet the differences are clear and significant, and they work in favor of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) investors for now.
