Apple's high-flying stock price of more than $600 has plummeted. Cult of Mac reported that the stock began trading today at or around $92.00. AAPL shares are trading at $92.93 at the time of this article's publication.

But there's no cause for concern. The cheaper stock price isn't the result of a recession; rather, it's due to a 7-to-1 stock split that when into affect this morning.

Company executives announced the split during an earnings call with significant investors back in late April.

This day marks the first time since 2005, and only the fourth time overall, that Apple has split its shares. The 1987, 2000 and 2005 splits were at a 2-to-1 ratio.

Each stockholder will receive an additional six shares for every share they owned as of June 2. And the amount of AAPL shares being traded now numbers in the billions. Before the split that number stood at 861 million.

The current split was executed for a couple of reasons. For one, shares of AAPL were just too exorbitantly priced. Now that the main barrier to entry has been eliminated more people can afford to invest in Apple.

However, this move wasn't just a friendly gesture to appease would-be investors. According to Forbes, the lower price tag means that Apple can now be listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The price per share was simply too high for the Dow Jones before the split went into effect.

The Dow Jones is a highly important stock index that is already host to a plethora of tech companies, including Verizon and IBM. Being included alongside these tech leaders reinforces Apple's already sterling reputation and should inspire investor confidence in the years to come.

Would you consider buying shares of AAPL now that the split has gone into effect? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.