Flush With $100 Billion Cash, Apple Buys Back Stock

Apple has so much green, it's giving investors some of it back.

Unsatisfied with sitting atop its mountain of cash, Apple is using $45 billion of its $100 billion in liquid assets to buy stock back from its investors, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

This means sharing the wealth -- literally.

The company will offer a dividend of $2.65 per share beginning in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, which begins July 1, according to the newspaper. The company will also begin a $10 billion share repurchase program on Sept. 30.

Apple has felt pressure from investors to "give back some of the $100 billion in cash it had accumulated in the past few years thanks to red-hot iPhone and iPad sales," the Mercury News reported.

Former company head Steve Jobs was reluctant to undertake such a program while at the helm of the company, in part because of memories of Apple's lean years. Jobs died in October, and CEO Tim Cook approved the plan on Monday.

In January, Apple reported a 118 percent jump in profit. Shares are hovering around the $600 mark.

Aside from rewarding Apple's investors, this move also means that more investors can pump cash into highly-profitable Apple: shares that pay dividends can be purchased by a wider range of investment funds, the newspaper reported.

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