Stock FAQs

how to check how much you bought a stock for

by Jevon Wolff Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Check With Your Broker Ordinarily, you can visit your broker's website or smartphone app or give the company a call to find out what stock you own, how many shares you have of each and how much they're worth. If you receive paper statements, this information should be outlined there as well.

The best way to determine the price you paid for a stock is to keep the original purchase receipt; however, if you don't have this information, you have some other options.

Full Answer

How do I find out what stocks I own?

Check With Your Broker. Ordinarily, you can visit your broker's website or smartphone app or give the company a call to find out what stock you own, how many shares you have of each and how much they're worth.

How do I purchase and sell stocks?

Enter the purchase price per share, the selling price per share Enter the commission fees for buying and selling stocks Specify the Capital Gain Tax rate (if applicable) and select the currency from the drop-down list (optional)

What is the best way to value a stock?

The most common way to value a stock is to compute the company's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. The P/E ratio equals the company's stock price divided by its most recently reported earnings per share (EPS). A low P/E ratio implies that an investor buying the stock is receiving an attractive amount of value.

How to calculate how many shares of stock you have?

How to Calculate How Many Shares of Stock You Have. To know how many shares of stock you have, you can generally check your brokerage statements or the brokerage website. The number of shares you own may change as you trade stock, but it can also change due to a variety of events initiated by the companies in which you're investing.

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How do I find out how much stock I bought?

Calculating Number of Stock Shares However, you can determine how much of a company stock you own by looking through your stock brokerage statement or using your broker's online platform. Usually, the report also shows how much you paid for the shares when you bought them.

How do you know how much I bought a stock on Robinhood?

You can see how much money you have invested in Robinhood by clicking on Account at the web page or by clicking on Portfolio at the mobile app, which also lets you customize notifications and control the flow of information.

Do you actually own the stock on Robinhood?

Debunking misinformation: Yes, you own the shares you buy through Robinhood.

Is Robinhood good for beginners?

Robinhood is a pioneer in the no-commission brokerage model. It remains a solid choice for beginners, as they can invest in stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies with zero commissions.

How to value a stock?

The most common way to value a stock is to compute the company's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio . The P/E ratio equals the company's stock price divided by its most recently reported earnings per share (EPS). A low P/E ratio implies that an investor buying the stock is receiving an attractive amount of value.

What is the book value of a stock?

Price is the company's stock price and book refers to the company's book value per share. A company's book value is equal to its assets minus its liabilities (asset and liability numbers are found on companies' balance sheets). A company's book value per share is simply equal to the company's book value divided by the number of outstanding shares. ...

Why do investors assign value to stocks?

Investors assign values to stocks because it helps them decide if they want to buy them, but there is not just one way to value a stock.

How to find Walmart's P/E ratio?

To obtain Walmart's P/E ratio, simply divide the company's stock price by its EPS. Dividing $139.78 by $4.75 produces a P/E ratio of 29.43 for the retail giant.

What is the most important skill to learn as an investor?

Arguably, the single most important skill investors can learn is how to value a stock. Without this proficiency, investors cannot independently discern whether a company's stock price is low or high relative to the company's performance and growth projections. Image source: Getty Images.

What is value trap?

These types of stocks are known as value traps. A value trap may take the form of the stock of a pharmaceutical company with a valuable patent that soon expires, a cyclical stock at the peak of the cycle, or the stock of a tech company whose once-innovative offering is being commoditized.

What is a single share of a company?

A single share of a company represents a small ownership stake in the business. As a stockholder, your percentage of ownership of the company is determined by dividing the number of shares you own by the total number of shares outstanding and then multiplying that amount by 100. Owning stock in a company generally confers to ...

What is a good measure of value?

For example, a bank is valued by how many assets it has and how well it grows those assets, so the price-to-book ratio is a good measure of value.

Why do investors use ratios?

Many investors use ratios to decide if a stock offers a good relative value compared to its peers. Here are the four most basic ways to calculate a stock value.

How to calculate P/B?

How it’s calculated. Divide the current share price by the stock’s book value. Then divide by the number of shares issued.

Key Takeaways

Calculating the gains or losses on a stock investment involves a straightforward process.

Article Sources

Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate.

Why do companies do stock splits?

Stock splits are sometimes done to lower the price of individual shares and make them more accessible to small investors.

Can companies buy back stock?

Companies can also buy stock back from investors, in which case some of your shares may be replaced by cash in your brokerage account. Alternatively, they can pay out cash dividends, providing a certain amount of money to each investor depending on how many shares he owns.

Can you own more shares if you reinvest dividends?

If you have told your broker to reinvest your dividends, the company will automatically use that money to buy more of the same stock, so a dividend will cause you to own more shares. In some cases, you can even end up owning fractional numbers of shares in the company this way.

What is volume in trading?

Volume is a total tally of trades and investors, including the buys and sells. By definition, every trade requires a buyer and a seller. Traders also know volume is an aggregate count, so investors don't see the names of the buyers or sellers in each trade.

Can you make bullish bets on options?

There's another complication. The options market allows investors to make bullish or bearish bets on a stock -- without actually buying or selling the shares. If there are investors piling into a large number of puts, which allow the investor to sell the shares below the current price, that's a bearish trade.

How old does a brokerage firm have to be to buy stock?

A brokerage firm may have bought stock in the owner's name or in its name. Either way, the firm should have a record of the purchase if it is less than 6 years old, reports the Securities and Exchange Commission. For older stock purchases, a transfer agent for the company keeps a record of all the securities owners.

What happens if a company is not publicly traded?

For companies that are not publicly traded, the state in which they were incorporated can supply information on them. If the stock is not listed with a brokerage firm, transfer agent or the company, the stock may have been turned over to the unclaimed property office in the state of the owner's last known address. ADVERTISEMENT.

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