Apple says it will announce the outcome of its internal discussion concerning its enormous cash balance on Monday morning.

Analysts expect Apple to institute a dividend. It can easily afford one, since it had $97.6 billion in cash and securities at the end of last year.

A dividend would reward shareholders and open ownership of Apple shares to a wider range of funds. Many "value-oriented" funds are not allowed to buy stocks that don't pay dividends.

And analysts say the lack of a dividend or other meaningful way of using the cash has held back the value of Apple's stock.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer will discuss the decision on a conference call at 9 a.m. Eastern time Monday morning, the company said late Sunday.