Three senior executives at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) took home $150 million between them in the last week after stock they held since 2008 became unrestricted. The stocks were given to some of the company’s senior personnel four years ago but were restricted until last Saturday. When the stocks were first issued Apple shares were trading at just over $100, now they’re trading infamously going for over $600 and continue to rise. The shares were awarded to Tim Cook, the company’s current CEO, Peter Oppenheimer, Philip Schiller, Scott Forstall, and Bob Mansfield all Senior Vice Presidents at the Cupertino California firm. Tim Cook took the largest segment with 200,000 shares.
The stock was granted as an incentive to the executives to stay at the company until 2012 which is why selling it was restricted until now. The total worth of the grants back then was $122 million. The bump in value the shares have had, 500%, was surely a good enough incentive for the team that is now leading the company. The filings revealed that Tim Cook alone made $64 million when he sold his stock this week. One could be blamed for questioning the quick sell offs by the executive though it is quite common in awards of this type. With Apple’s shares continuing on their rise, at 618.06 at time of writing up 0.58% today alone, the executives could have made much more this time next year. Some analysts are predicting the company will be worth over $1000 a share in 2013.
The company has been in the spotlight, more than usual, of late after the release of its next generation iPad. The update to the iconic device was well received by critics and consumers alike. The only true concerns was that the device wasn’t revolutionary. It wasn’t but users still await the iPhone 5, which will be released later this year, with bated breath. Apple has managed to captivate its users in a way that other tech companies can only dream of in this regard. The company’s management strategy seems to be playing out too. The loss of Steve Jobs took a toll on the company both physically and spiritually but the core management executives he trusted have taken the reins splendidly. With the sale of the first of these shares it is difficult to see any of the top executives seeing now as their time to leave the company that is the world’s most valuable and for many the most impressive.
(One of the executives mentioned in the article was incorrectly referred to as Bob Schiller, it has been amended to the correct name, Philip Schiller)
