How do you like them Apples?
Shares in Apple, the world’s most valuable company, reached new heights yesterday, closing above $500 a share for the first time in its more than 30 years as a publicly traded company.
With the iPad 3 likely to be unveiled next month, Wall Street analysts expect the tech titan’s stock, already up 40 percent in the last 12 months, to continue its ascent.
Some even see the stock approaching $600 — and a $1 trillion valuation.
Apple, with its $468.6 billion market cap, passed oil giant ExxonMobil and slipped into the No. 1 spot last month.
Yesterday, Apple shares closed at $502.60 — more than the price of the cheapest iPad — after the stock had flirted with the $500 milestone for much of last week.
CEO Tim Cook’s company has been surging since it reported blow-out first-quarter earnings two weeks ago, topping more than $100 billion in sales.
Some of the excitement around Apple has been fueled by analysts, who are hoping the company finally announces a first-of-its-kind dividend, since Apple is sitting on a cash pile that is close to $100 billion.
Still, two-thirds of that cash pile is overseas, said analyst Colin Gillis with BGC Partners, who surmised that if a dividend comes it would likely be on the low end, close to 1 percent.
“If there’s any disappointment there could be a pullback,” he said.
Nypost.com
