There are reasons that companies like Apple ( AAPL ), Google-owner Alphabet ( GOOGL ) and Priceline Group ( PCLN ) have share prices that range from $115 to almost $1,500. If Apple had not split its shares 7-for-1 back in June 2014, the stock today would be trading near Alphabet's price of 814 as of Monday's close. (The grandpappy of the stock-split resistance is Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ( BRKA ), with its Class A share price now topping $216,000.) These stocks attract investors willing to pay for quality. That might narrow the potential audience, but it tends to increase the smart-money sponsors that are backing the stock. Stock splits attract smaller investors. In effect, they change the neighborhood. To be sure, early stock splits are often not a problem. Stocks can and often do move higher after initial splits -- particularly when they happen early in a bull market. But problems occur when companies enact multiple big splits -- say, a 2-for-1 and a 3-for-1 -- within a one- to two-year period.