Quartz reports that Apple is moving closer to announcing a plan to return additional value to shareholders, likely acting "this spring" to either increase its dividend or repurchase additional stock from investors. The move comes amid increased public scrutiny of Apple's plans for its cash as vocal hedge fund manager David Einhorn has been pressing the company to return more money to investors.Apple’s zeroing in on a dividend or buyback was in the works before Einhorn made his complaints public in February, although some of the sources say Apple increased the size of its plan after Einhorn’s comments. And although Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly called Einhorn’s lawsuit a “silly sideshow,” the company found his idea of preferred shares “interesting,” sources said. If it decides
