This week, when Apple reported strong quarterly earnings and iPhone sales that blew analyst projections out of the water, the company also revealed a healthy investment in itself.

All told, Apple spent approximately $18 billion to purchase nearly 32 million shares of AAPL during the March quarter. This move is just one of a multitude of factors pushing shares of AAPL higher over the last 48 hours.

On Wednesday, Apple announced a seven-for-one stock split and also confirmed a new threshold for share buybacks, which are now capped at $90 billion. "As part of