Icahn pushes Apple for $150B share buyback

Apple shares rose about 2% Tuesday on news that billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn had dinner with Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Monday and “pushed hard” for a buyback.

“Had a cordial dinner with Tim last night. We pushed hard for a $150 billion buyback. We decided to continue dialogue in about three weeks,” Icahn tweeted Tuesday.

In August, Icahn said “Apple has the ability to do a $150 billion buyback now by borrowing funds at 3%.”

At the time, he also said, “If Apple does this now and earnings increase at only 10%, the stock — even keeping the same multiple currently — should trade at $700 a share.”

Tuesday, shares of Apple rose 1.85% to trade at more than $485 a share.

A source familiar with the matter, who declined to be named because Icahn hasn’t disclosed his holdings in Apple, said the investor’s stake was worth about $1 billion, a fraction of the company’s market value of more than $400 billion.

Cook did not mention the dinner in any tweets Tuesday.