1. What has happened to Apple’s dividend per share, dividend yield, and dividend payout over the past 4 years? Provide an explanation for what took place.

2. Compare this information with other firms in the same industry. Has Apple behaved differently from its peers, or have there been industry-wide shifts? Google Finance provides data on related companies. Click“Related companies” on the left-hand side of your screen, and then click “Add or remove columns” to see additional data, including dividend per share and dividend yield.

3. Refer back to question 1. Manually plot earnings per share, dividends per share, and cash flow per share overtime. In the text, we point out that dividends are often more stable than earnings, that cash flows track earnings very closely, and that cash flow per share exceeds dividends per share by a safe margin. Do you see a similar pattern for Apple? Explain. (Note that Morningstar.com provides cash flow information for a 10-year period.)

4. Identify the dividend declared date, the ex-dividend date, the holder-of-record date, and the dividend payment date. From the ex-dividend date and industry convention, you should be able to determine the holder of-record date. Explain the significance of those dates. Now, go to the interactive price chart on the website.Can you observe price shifts around these dates? Explain what price shifts you might expect to see.

5. Investors are more concerned with future dividends than historical dividends. Look at analysts’ earnings estimates for the next year and the 5-year annual growth estimates. On the basis of these data, what would you expect Apple’s payout policy to be over the next 5 years? (Your answer will only be a guess based on current data.)

6. Review the firm’s annual cash flow statements. Has Apple been repurchasing stock, or has it been issuing new stock?

7. What has happened to its year-end market capitalization over this 4-year period? (To calculate the firm’s market capitalization, you will need to multiply the adjusted closing price at its fiscal year-end (September 30th) by the number of weighted average shares outstanding. You will have to go to the firm’s website to find its annual 10-K filings for the number of shares outstanding in prior years.)