Not exactly Blackjack but since there are a few threads on stocks I thought I'd ask a question that's been on my mind for a while...

For many years, even decades, the directors of large American corporations used to declare stock splits of 2:1, 3:1, etc in order to lower their share price and make it more affordable for people to invest in their company. Occasionally, they would also award existing stockholders with additional shares through rights issues.

All this appears to have stopped around 20 years ago and my question is why?