Tim Cook acquires $123M worth of vested Apple stock, sells $58M

Apple CEO last week was granted 560,000 vested restricted stock, split between time- and performance-based awards, and in a subsequent selloff of the bonus gained nearly $58 million.

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Cook's batch of 560,000 RSUs was granted last Friday after the Apple chief satisfied performance goals set forth by the company's board of directors. The granted stock was worth some $123 million at the end of trading on Tuesday.

Apple on Friday withheld 294,840 stock units, or 52.65 percent of the award, worth $63,732,614 to comply with statutory tax withholdings on vested RSUs. That left 265,160 units, which Cook sold in multiple trades ranging from $216.96 to $218.54 on Monday.

The stock sales on Monday were made pursuant to Cook's trading plan adopted on May 4.

The fully vested award includes 280,000 time-based RSUs and 280,000 performance-based RSUs. As Apple's recent stock performance landed the company in the top third of firms listed in the S&P 500 over a three-year period from Aug. 25, 2015 through Aug. 24, 2018, Cook reaped the full grant. Adjusted for dividends, Apple's starting value was calculated at $116.28, while it ended the evaluation period at $220.87.

According to the filing, Apple's TSR performance for the three-year period was 89.94 percent, ranking the company 50th out of 423 companies. The result put Apple in the 88th percentile. If Apple ended in the middle or bottom third, Cook's award would have been reduced to 50 percent or zero, respectively.

Cook has 2,380,000 RSUs remaining in his current award, with 1,680,000 units slated to vest in three equal annual installments starting on Aug. 24, 2019, contingent on continued employment and AAPL stock performance. A 700,000-unit chunk is scheduled to vest on Aug. 24, 2021.

31 Comments

hentaiboy 1252 comments · 14 Years

About 6 years ago

Warren Buffet buys, Tim sells. Interesting.

rcomeau 85 comments · 13 Years

hentaiboy said:

Warren Buffet buys, Tim sells. Interesting.

You can't buy groceries or pay rent with Apple shares. Once and a while, you need to liquify your assets to exchange for goods and/or services.

mpantone 2245 comments · 18 Years

rcomeau said:

hentaiboy said:

Warren Buffet buys, Tim sells. Interesting.

You can't buy groceries or pay rent with Apple shares. Once and a while, you need to liquify your assets to exchange for goods and/or services.

The more likely motivation for him selling his RSUs is portfolio diversification.

It's not like he was penniless before these transactions.

Cook has not exhibited any real interest in crass materialism like super-yachts or enormous mansions. He doesn't collect vintage cars nor attend glitzy galas. He shows very little interest in the arts, fashion, cuisine, etc. The Apple Board of Directors demands that he travel via private jet (on the company's dime), so it's not like he's going to buy a Learjet.

He doesn't buy professional sports teams like Steve Ballmer nor fund America's Cup yacht syndicates like Larry Ellison.

He's a bit of a health nut but how many t-shirts, shorts and pairs of socks does a guy need? He's into physical fitness but seems to have little interest in attending major events (sports, concerts, etc.) whether they be local (SF Bay Area) or abroad.

For a CEO of a Dow 30 company, Tim's expenses are comparatively paltry.

He does seem to have some interest in philanthropy so perhaps he has some idea about how some of these funds might be used.

SpamSandwich 32917 comments · 19 Years

rcomeau said:

hentaiboy said:

Warren Buffet buys, Tim sells. Interesting.

You can't buy groceries or pay rent with Apple shares. Once and a while, you need to liquify your assets to exchange for goods and/or services.

"Liquidate", not "liquify"... unless he was somehow melting paper stock certificates.