Apple Stock Trades at New, 7-for-1 Split Adjusted Price

As of this morning, Apple’s stock split takes effect with the announced 7-for-1 split, meaning that six additional shares of stock are issued for each share in existence. At the same time, Apple’s stock price has been divided by seven, so don’t panic if you see the stock priced at $92. After Friday’s closing, Apple’s stock price was at $645.

Actually, with today’s move already in effect, this is the fourth stock split for Apple since it went public, but the first time of 7-for-1 split. The company previously split on a 2-for-1 basis on May 15, 1987; June 21, 2000; and February 18, 2005.

So, why would Apple split its stock after it reached new heights over the past 52 weeks? The investors’ FAQ says the company wanted to make its stock available to a larger number of investors. But, some voices say Apple is in discussion to be included among the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industry average (DJIA). However, its high stock price made it “impractical” to be included in the Dow, because of Dow’s value-weighted method Dow normally picks companies with stock prices trading below $300. Just to pick an example: Visa is the only current stock on the (DJIA) trading above $200.