SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has approved another $30 billion in share buybacks through the end of 2015 and authorized a rarely seen seven-for-one stock split, addressing calls to share more of its cash hoard while broadening the stock's appeal to individual investors.

On Wednesday, Apple reported a 4.6 percent rise in March-quarter revenue to $45.6 billion, beating Wall Street's projections after selling a sharply higher-than-expected 43.72 million iPhones.

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