Time For Apple To Raise Its Dividend

Bernstein Research’s Toni Sacconaghi, who has an Outperform rating on Apple‘s (AAPL) shares, and a $750 price target, today ponders whether the stock’s shareholder base may be changing from one of hyper-growth investors to those who like “branded consumer companies” such as Nike (NKE), Louis Vuitton (LVMUY) and Saks (SKS).

The stock may “continue to be range-bound” if Apple can’t overcome worries about the full-year growth trajectory, writes Sacconaghi. He proposes the company increase its dividend to appeal more to the new class of income-oriented shareholders: "We believe that an increase in the dividend (or an increase in buyback) could (similar to FY 12) serve to attract incremental new investors in FY 13."

Source: Baron's

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