I just learned that different brokerages pay different prices when the dividend is reinvested. I had just assumed (incorrectly) that they all got the same price.
Southern (SO) paid their dividend on the 6th. Here are some of the prices that I saw:

Fidelity- $46.46
TD Ameritrade- $47.27
Vanguard- $46.99
Etrade- $46.79
Schwab- $47.29

This may be common knowledge to everyone else, but it was the first I had heard of it.

On another note, I bought RDSB for $62 in May of 15. I picked up a little more while the price was down, and had all dividends reinvested. Today is the first time that position has been green since purchase. I know it could change tomorrow, but it was nice to see.

What do those prices represent from the different brokerages?

Price per share.

Is this just a matter of timing / execution? If you and I buy shares of the same stock on the same day we will get different prices depending on the exact time of the transaction. The market ebbs and flows through the day depending on how many are buying, how many are selling, volumes, offer prices, and etcetera.

The price you pay is determined purely by the lot that is offered by the seller.... buyers and sellers are matched up and the transaction is completed.

If you want to know exactly what you are going to pay --- DON'T put in a "market order". Learn how to put in a "Limit" order.

I "almost" always do limit orders. What the poster was referring to was the fact that it seems that the automatic reinvestment of dividends was done at various price points depending on the broker. What I was trying to get across was that the execution of the purchase was of different lots at slightly different times and it was likely random chance on the resulting price more than anything.

EXACTLY.


The market is a PER TRANSACTION place. If one broker re-invests the dividend 2/100 ths of a second later or earlier than the "other guy" -- then his price will be different most likely.

Well it's official, I bought my very first stock today. I had an extra $100 laying around so I decided to invest it instead of spend it on car parts.

I bought one share of Starbucks, SBUX.

Personally, I don't go there. But my wife goes there almost daily. It looked good on paper (low on left, high on right) with the 5 year projection being almost 200% growth and the increasing dividend. But the other important factor here is that since my wife loves Starbucks, this is a way to get her involved and interested.

She's great with money. In fact she handles all the bills and everything. But we haven't been investing. She's never done that before, so this is a good way for both of us to dip our feet in the water.

Thanks to all of you, and especially Greg for helping explain it all!

Think about it --- when the thread was started (12/2011)-- SBUX was $22 a share. Oh well..... better late that never!

Nice Tim, I have a stake in them too. They do have a unique market cornered at this point. When I analyzed them, their debt was increasing, but so was their net revenue.