Software giant (NASDAQ: MSFT) has a long history of stock splits. Its share count has been reshuffled nine times so far, and a single share from 1987 would be a basket of 288 Microsoft stubs today.

But Microsoft's latest stock split took place in February of 2003. It's been three decades, and the stock is starting to look pricey. Many investors expect a tenth split fairly soon, especially since Microsoft is a member of the prestigious and price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) index. Allowing the share price to soar much higher might inspire the index managers to drop Microsoft from the component list and pick a lower-priced name instead.

Or so the thinking goes. Is there any substance to that argument, though?

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Source Fool.com