Whether it was in an effort to kind of, sort of placate Icahn or because CEO Tim Cook legitimately saw value in his company’s shares, Apple has reduced its shares outstanding count to below the 893 million level some market observers believed was necessary to get the stock into PKW.
Apple’s burst of recent share repurchasing appears to have cemented its status as a credible addition to PKW when the $2.62 billion ETF is rebalances in April. Technology is the ETF’s second-largest sector weight at almost 17%, less than half the weight allocated to consumer discretionary stocks.
Although PKW does not currently hold Apple, it does feature a modest weight to another Ichan holding, Herbalife (NYSE: HLF).
The actively managed AdvisorShares TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF (NYSEArca: TTFS), which emphasizes shareholder friendliness via float shrinkage, profitability measured by free cash flow and balance sheet sturdiness measured by leverage ratio in addition to float shrinkage view buybacks, also holds shares of Apple and Herbalife. [ETFs for Your Inner Icahn]
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of Apple and TTFs.