Apple announces 4-for-1 stock split
Apple on Thursday announced in its fiscal third-quarter earnings that the Board of Directors has approved a four-for-one stock split.
That means that, for each share of Apple stock that an investor owns, they'll receive three additional shares. It also makes single shares in Apple more affordable for investors to buy. It follows a similar move Apple made in 2014, when it offered a 7-to-1 stock split. At the time, Apple was trading above $600 per share. The split brought shares of Apple to about $92 a share.
Stock splits are cosmetic and do not fundamentally change anything about the company, other than possibly making the shares accessible to a larger number of investors because of their cheaper price.
Since Apple stock currently trades above $380, it means investors should expect to again have a chance to buy a share of Apple for around $100, depending on where the stock trades at the end of August.
The shares will be distributed to shareholders at the close of business on August 24, and trading will begin on a split-adjusted basis on August 31.
This is Apple's fifth stock split since it went public. It also split on a 7-for-1 basis on June 9, 2014; a 2-for-1 basis on February 28, 2005; a 2-for-1 basis on June 21, 2000; and on a 2-for-1 basis on June 16, 1987.
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