So does this mean that it is likely to be profitable to buy Apple stock now?
Edit: looks like I was wrong about the price. That seems to be the quarterly dividend. So it's 2% and it could go up. http://www.thestreet.com/dividends/leaders/index.html
Edit 2: Here's a graph of Apple's dividend yield: http://ycharts.com/companies/AAPL/dividend_yield
So even if no one were engaging in arbitrage opportunities, it would make no difference when you purchase the stock.
Now is too late.
Apple's stock is already priced to account for their war chest. If the war chest is drawn down, the stock would (presumably) reflect this and drop in proportion to the amount of cash that's released.
Well, first off, one person asked, the other told, but in your sentiment:
What you refer to is more likely a skew of information, a mix of information traders and (e.g.) value traders, or (generalizing term) noise traders.
There may not be a facit as to "Is this good or bad for the value of AAPL to have dividends paid out in this amount?". There may be different interpretations. Some might feel it's a sign of a new path in dividends payout from Apple even in the future. Some might think it's a short term "stunt" to keep the investors happy. Some might think it makes them less valuable as they have less money, some might think a strategy of catering to profit and investors will outweigh the "loss" in dividend payout.
Just looking at this thread of comments shows there are many interpretations.
If you think this is remotely interesting, I'd suggest reading up on reactions to news, e.g.: http://web.usm.my/journal/aamjaf/vol%207-2-2011/7-2-4.pdf (we overstimate the effects of bad news, and underestimate good news) or an easy-to-read intro to financial markets: http://www.amazon.com/Trading-Exchanges-Market-Microstructur... (it's a big book, but easy to read selectively, and has a few good chapters on market participants that might help explain how the market works).