How To Buy Stock Shares

Yes. Several online brokerage platforms (such as Robinhood) offer commission-free trading in most stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Note that these brokers still earn money from your trades, but by selling order flow to financial firms and loaning your stock to short-sellers.

how to buy stock shares

The easiest way, in terms of getting a trade done, is to open and fund an online account and place a market order. While this is the quickest way to buy stocks, it might not always be the wisest. Do your own research before deciding what type of order to place and with whom.

Dividend yield is a ratio that shows how much a company pays out in dividends each year relative to its share price. It is a way to measure how much income you are getting for each dollar invested in a stock position.

Dividend yields provide an idea of the cash dividend expected from an investment in a stock. Dividend Yields can change daily as they are based on the prior day's closing stock price. There are risks involved with dividend yield investing strategies, such as the company not paying a dividend or the dividend being far less that what is anticipated. Furthermore, dividend yield should not be relied upon solely when making a decision to invest in a stock. An investment in high yield stock and bonds involve certain risks such as market risk, price volatility, liquidity risk, and risk of default.

Data quoted represents past performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results and investment returns and share prices will fluctuate on a daily basis. Your investment may be worth more or less than your original cost when you redeem your shares. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted.

E*TRADE charges $0 commission for online US-listed stock, ETF, mutual fund, and options trades. Exclusions may apply and E*TRADE reserves the right to charge variable commission rates. The standard options contract fee is $0.65 per contract (or $0.50 per contract for customers who execute at least 30 stock, ETF, and options trades per quarter). The retail online $0 commission does not apply to Over-the-Counter (OTC) securities transactions, foreign stock transactions, large block transactions requiring special handling, futues, or fixed income investments. Service charges apply for trades placed through a broker ($25). Stock plan account transactions are subject to a separate commission schedule. All fees and expenses as described in a fund's prospectus still apply. Additional regulatory and exchange fees may apply. For more information about pricing, visit etrade.com/pricing.

Consolidation is not right for everyone, so you should carefully consider your options. Before deciding whether to retain assets in a retirement plan account through a former employer, roll them over to a qualified retirement plan account through a new employer (if one is available and rollovers are permitted), or roll them over to an IRA, an investor should consider all his or her options and the various factors including, but not limited to, the differences in investment options, fees and expenses, services, the exceptions to the early withdrawal penalties, protection from creditors and legal judgments, required minimum distributions, the tax treatment of employer stock (if held in the qualified retirement plan account), and the availability of plan loans (i.e., loans are not permitted from IRAs, and the availability of loans from a qualified retirement plan will depend on the terms of the plan). For additional information, view the FINRA Website.

Within the My Accounts tab, navigate to Buy & Sell. On the Buy & Sell landing page, choosing the option to Trade ETFs & stocks sends you to the trade order form. All buy orders will execute using your selected account's funds available to trade.

Let's say you want to invest in a company, but its stock price may be higher than what you want to pay. Instead of buying a whole share of stock, you can buy a fractional share, which is a "slice" of stock that represents a partial share, for as little as $5. For example, if a company's stock is selling at $1,000 a share and you were buying $200 worth of it, you would own 0.2 (20%) of a share. With stock slices, investing has never been more accessible.

Anytime you buy fractional shares through Schwab Stock Slices, you can buy a single slice or up to 30 slices for as little as $5 per slice. And of course, you can trade stock slices commission-free online, just as you would full shares at Schwab.1 See a list of companies in the S&P 500 Index.

Schwab Stock Slices is an easy way to buy fractional shares (or whole shares) for a set dollar amount. You have the option to buy slices of stock in up to 30 top U.S. companies in a single transaction. The shares you purchase through Schwab Stock Slices can be held and sold independently.

A fractional share (stock slice) is when you own less than one whole share of a company. Fractional shares allow you to invest in stocks based on a dollar amount, so you may end up with a fraction of a share, a whole share, or more than one share.

Voting: If you own less than one whole share of stock, you will generally be able to participate in mandatory corporate actions such as stock splits, mergers, or spin-offs, but you will not be able to participate in any shareholder vote or voluntary corporate actions like tender offers and certain rights offerings.

Transferability: If you want to transfer your account or specific share positions to another broker, only whole shares can be transferred. Your fractional shares that cannot be transferred or reorganized will be liquidated at prevailing market prices, and the proceeds will be credited to your account. Since your fractional shares cannot be transferred, your overall SIPC coverage may be affected.

Corporate Action: If you receive fractional shares as the result of a stock split or other corporate action, we may either sell the shares on the open market or to the issuer or transfer agent, and you are entitled to receive your pro rata portion of the proceeds of such sale. If sold on the open market, the sale price may differ from that offered to certain registered owners by the issuer or transfer agent.

The shares available for purchase through Schwab Stock Slices are those in the S&P 500 Index (S&P 500), which includes the 500 leading large-cap U.S. publicly traded companies. The S&P 500 is often used as a benchmark or indicator of how large-cap U.S. equities are performing. See a list of companies in the S&P 500 Index.

Multiply your current fractions by the whole number shares of the stock split to see what your future whole or fractional share holdings will be, upon completion of the stock split. For example, if you owned .15 of a share and the company announced a split of three additional shares, you could anticipate holding .45 (0.15 x 3) of a share when the stock split is complete. If you held .43 shares of the same company, at the completion of the stock split you'd have 1.72 shares. This equates to a whole share and a fractional share because the split would award you an additional 1.29 shares (.43 x 3) shares.

Schwab Stock Slices is not intended to be investment advice or a recommendation of any share available for purchase through Stock Slices. Investing in shares can be volatile and involves risk, including loss of principal. Consider your individual circumstances prior to investing.

If you hold your stock through a bank or broker as a beneficial shareholder, your dividend will be deposited directly into your account. If you have any questions, please contact your broker directly.

A Market Order means you want to purchase the stock right away at the current market price. Caution is required when placing market orders as some securities do not trade heavily and placing a market order could result in paying more than you intended.

The Home Depot Direct Stock Purchase Plan (DSPP) enables you to invest a minimum amount in Home Depot stock and build your stock ownership over time. It's designed for individual investors who might otherwise avoid making small, long-term stock purchases because of large minimum brokerage fees. You always have control of your shares. You may withdraw your DSPP holdings of Home Depot stock at any time, or may ask the program administrator to sell your shares.

Purchasing StockIf you do not already own Home Depot stock, or if your stock is held through a brokerage account, you may use the plan to buy your first shares directly from the Company. The minimum initial investment is $500.

For ongoing investment through DSPP, you may buy stock by having a minimum of $50 automatically deducted from your checking account or savings account each month, or you may pay by check as often as once a week.

Features at No ChargeThrough DSPP, you receive a stock safekeeping service and the ability to make transfers or gifts of Company stock - all at no charge. The recipient of the transfer or gift will have an account opened in their name and will enjoy full program benefits.

Fractional share and dollar-based trading is available through Fidelity Mobile (Basic Trade Ticket). Placing your first buy or sell order in fractional shares or dollars enables your account for fractional and dollar-based trading.

When trading in fractions or dollars you can trade National Market System (NMS) exchange-listed stocks. This includes stocks listed on the NYSE or Nasdaq. You will receive an error message if a specific security is not eligible.

After you place your first order in fractions or dollars, any sell order will need to include the whole and fractional share amounts that you want to trade, as fractional shares will no longer automatically liquidate. You will continue to have your dividends reinvested.

It's no secret that investing in stocks can be an alluring way to build wealth. And if you're a beginner investor, we're here to reassure you that it isn't as difficult as it seems. All you need to do to get started is open an online investment account. 041b061a72