Apple recently had a major share buyback spree. The company bought back 36 million shares instead of the scheduled 10 million. Initially, the company had the latter volume of share repurchase planned out. However, it seemed Apple changed its mind during the third quarter and bought back three times as much as was initially planned and scheduled.

The amount spent for the share repurchase reached US$16 million in the third quarter. Apple paid US$4 billion in cash and the rest through its accelerated share repurchase program. The program bought back US$12 billion worth of shares, bringing the average price per share to more than US$444.

Apple then retired most of these repurchased shares, around 22 million, in the fiscal Q3. That left Apple with 908 million outstanding shares, according to its latest 10-Q.

"One way to think of it is this is Apple's greatest acquisition ever," Horace Dediu of Asymco said in a review.