Niles: Expect Apple to Act on Cash

Apple appears likely to return some of the cash on its balance sheet to shareholders, AlphaOne Capital CIO Dan Niles said Tuesday on CNBC.

"I think they told you they're going to do something with the money," he said, citing the company's response to activist investor David Einhorn's request for a preferred dividend.

On "Fast Money," Niles noted that Apple CEO Tim Cook at the Goldman Sachs Tech Conference in San Francisco revealed the company increased its cash by $23 billion for the quarter.

Niles said the company has made "progress" with its cash, noting that the company under Cook reintroduced a dividend just five months after co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs died. Jobs had opposed paying a dividend.

Niles looked to Apple's shareholder meeting on Feb. 27.

"That's the earliest you should be expecting anything, and they've told you they're going to move," he said.

Trader disclosure: On Feb. 12, 2013, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC's "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Dan Niles has positions in FB; Dan Niles has positions in INTC; Dan Niles has positions in MSFT; Dan Niles has positions in AAPL; Dan Niles has positions in QCOM; Dan Niles has positions in EBAY; Dan Niles has positions in CSCO; Dan Niles has positions in JNPR; Dan Niles has positions in CIEN; Dan Niles has positions in FNSR; Dan Niles has positions in AMZN; Dan Niles has positions in ONNN; Dan Niles has positions in NXPI; Pete Najarian is long AAPL; Pete Najarian is long AAPL CALLS; Pete Najarian is long JPM CALLS; Pete Najarian is long BAC CALLS; Pete Najarian is long MS CALLS; Pete Najarian is long XLF CALLS; Pete Najarian is long YHOO CALLS; Pete Najarian is long BBRY; Pete Najarian is long BBRY CALLS; Pete Najarian is long SBUX; Pete Najarian is long FB; Pete Najarian is long MSFT; Pete Najarian is long DELL; Stephen Weiss is long BAC; Stephen Weiss is long C; Stephen Weiss is long QCOM; Stephen Weiss is long TBF; Mike Murphy is long AAPL; Mike Murphy is long GS; Mike Murphy is long FB.