Updated Jan. 22, 2014 11:57 a.m. ET
Carl Icahn has added about $500 million to his Apple Inc. AAPL +1.13% Apple Inc. U.S.: Nasdaq $555.25 +6.18 +1.13% Jan. 22, 2014 1:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 8.55M P/E Ratio 13.92 Market Cap $490.07 Billion Dividend Yield 2.20% Rev. per Employee $2,127,850 01/22/14 Icahn Buys More Apple Stock 01/22/14 Icahn's Apple Position Tops $3... 01/22/14 Icahn: Apple Investment Is Mor... More quote details and news » investment, he said Wednesday, and is planning to push again for more share buybacks ahead of the technology company's expected earnings release Monday.
Mr. Icahn confirmed in an interview remarks he made on Twitter Wednesday: that he now has a $3 billion position in Apple, up from about $2.5 billion in late October.
A $3 billion position would put Mr. Icahn among the top 15 Apple shareholders and represents more than 0.6% of shares outstanding.
Apple shares rose in recent trading.
In the interview, Mr. Icahn said he is planning to release a letter in the coming days that again will call for an increased buyback.
"It shouldn't be just a decision by the board backed up by some investment banker that might have other agendas," Mr. Icahn said about Apple's buyback decisions to date. "They are doing great disservice to their smaller investors…The large ones can afford to buy the stock; the smaller ones can't."
The letter would be the latest volley between Mr. Icahn and Apple over the company's $150 billion cash hoard. While Apple is buying back shares, the pace and amount isn't satisfying Mr. Icahn.
Mr. Icahn in August said he had taken an investment and began calling for a massive buyback. Apple already had announced what it says is a record share buyback and pledged to review its plan.
Mr. Icahn called on Apple to launch a massive debt sale to help fund a buyback of about $150 billion in stock. In December he altered his position to call for about $50 billion in repurchases. At his urging, Apple has put on its proxy statement a shareholder vote calling for the company to complete $50 billion in buybacks by the end of September.
Apple has recommended that investors vote against Mr. Icahn's proposal, saying the company's competitive landscape requires large investment, financial flexibility and easy access to resources. It said that, despite its recommendation, it is committed to returning cash to shareholders. It said it repurchased $23 billion in its fiscal 2013 year.
Apple last April said it planned to repurchase $60 billion in shares and return a total of $100 billion, including in dividends, through 2015. It has said several times it regularly will review that plan and would announce any changes in early 2014. It also has said it has engaged shareholders on the plans.
Write to David Benoit at david.benoit@wsj.com and Daisuke Wakabayashi at daisuke.wakabayashi@wsj.com
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