So called 'iSplit' makes Apple stock accessible to the little guy

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)



NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Apple's hottest product this week might end up being its own stock.

The tech company's seven-for-one stock split officially went into effect Monday, making shares of the tech giant more accessible to the little guy. The stock currently trades around $94, significantly down from Friday's closing of $645.57.

CNNMoney asked readers if they plan to buy Apple at its lower price. We received over 220 responses with the vast majority enthusiastic about purchasing shares for the first time or adding to their stake.

Trading of the tech stock is slightly heavier today, although many people say they intend to buy shares throughout the week.

Here's a sample of what everyday investors are saying about the iSplit:

Sandra Samuels (Winston-Salem, North Carolina): The 74-year-old didn't waste any time snapping up Apple shares after the split. She bought 300 shares Monday, which was on top of the 700 she already owned (she had 100 shares before the split).

"Everyone in my family owns at least one Apple thing," says Sandra.

When asked about the criticism that Apple hasn't rolled out any big game changing products in recent years, Sandra would hear nothing of it.

"I don't listen to anybody on Wall Street. I'm 74 years old, so I've been around a lot longer than they have," she declares.

She's not selling Apple any time soon, if ever.

"When my husband was still alive, we decided to buy and hold. Now that he's gone, we manage it the same way," she says.

Rich Stauffer (White Plains, New York): Rich, a retail general manager, has been an Apple shareholder for the last four or five years. He first purchased shares at around $238 each, and he plans to buy more now that the split has occurred.

"Although the split is purely psychological as the value of the shares remain unchanged, I believe it becomes more affordable to the average investor who would like to invest in the company," he says.

While he acknowledges the Apple skepticism, Rich believes the company will continue to innovate.

"As long as they continue that process, they're definitely going to grow," he claims.

As for Apple's $160 billion mountain of cash, Rich is happy that the firm has given money back to investors in the form of dividends and share buybacks. Still, he'd like to see the company use the cash to buy more companies. As for Apple's recent acquisition of Beats Electronics, Rich thinks Apple overpaid, but applauds Apple for breaking into the music streaming business.

Corey Koch (Pasadena, Maryland): As a college student, Apple's pre-split stock price was out of Corey's budget. Now he's planning on buying two or three shares. First, he needs to set up a stock account, which he hopes to do by the end of the week.

"I think they're an excellent business and they'll continue to be an excellent business," says Corey, who is studying political science and economics at Florida Southern College.

But he's not planning to get rich quick.

"Once I do invest, I'm not expecting a huge bounce in the price of a share." Corey says. "But I'm confident the stock will be worth more than a year or two than it is today."

Chris Duck (Vienna, Virginia): Chris doesn't plan to jump on the Apple bandwagon, but it's not because he's an Apple hater. Instead, it's because the 34-year-old feels he's already invested in the stock through the mutual funds and index funds in his 401(k), which invests primarily in large cap American stocks like the tech giant.

If he's going to buy an individual stock, he feels it should be a small cap or international company that he doesn't already have a stake in through his 401(k).

"I like the company, but I'm already so heavily exposed to it without choosing to buy it," says Chris, who works in business development for American Express. "If I buy more of it, all of sudden I'm not diversified."

Perry Neilson (Morristown, New Jersey): Perry is an Apple bull. He plans on buying more shares starting today through four accounts, two of which are for his kids' college educations. Regardless of where the stock goes from here, he'll continue to buy shares regularly for the next year.

As for whether Apple can continue to innovate, Perry has no doubts that it will. He's excited about rumored products such as the iWatch, and he predicts that in the next 10 to 12 months, Apple will unveil products that are "game changing to a level we haven't seen since Steve Jobs passed away."

While Perry is happy with the rate of Apple's dividend payments, he would like to see the company stay committed to research and development.

"I'm amazed by their design, the elegance of their product," he says.

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