Salesforce, Amgen and Honeywell added to Dow in major shake-up to the average

Major changes are coming to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

S&P Dow Jones Indices said Monday that three new companies will be joining the 30-stock benchmark index.

Salesforce.com will replace Exxon Mobil, Amgen will replace Pfizer and Honeywell International will replace Raytheon Technologies.

The changes will go into effect before the market opens on Monday, August 31.

“The index changes were prompted by DJIA constituent Apple Inc.’s decision to split its stock 4:1, which will reduce the index’s weight in the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) Information Technology sector,” a statement read. “The announced changes help offset that reduction. They also help diversify the index by removing overlap between companies of similar scope and adding new types of businesses that better reflect the American economy.”

As a result of Apple’s 4-for-1 stock split, its ranking is set to drop from the top all the way down to 16th, and its weighting in the average will fall from 11% to just 3%, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The 124-year-old blue-chip average is price-weighted, meaning stocks with higher share prices are given greater weight in the gauge

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.

– CNBC’s Yun Li contributed reporting.