How does one go about buying Disney Stock?

[Disneyliscious]

I am wanting to purchase a share of Disney Stock for my grand-daughters 1st birthday. It just seems better than spending a lot of money on clothes or toys she will outgrow. I have never dealt in stocks and know nothing about it.

Can anyone tell me where to begin or what to expect? Just at a loss here and even after researching on Google, I'm still confused. Is this an easy process?

Do the stocks go in her name or mine?

 

[mco65]

The easiest way would be to open an online trading account (etrade etc).. Most will have a minimum deposit.. 250 or 500.
The stock symbol is DIS.. its trading for about $100 ..
After your initial deposit clears you can purchase the DIS stock.

 

[RitaE]

Since she is a minor, it is a little difficult to get it into her name. I think that Capital One Investing (Sharebuilder) offers Custodial Accounts and they will usually let you reinvest the Dividends for free. Their Trading Fees are very reasonable. There are a couple of free Brokerages but as far as I know they don't offer Custodial Accounts.

https://www.capitaloneinvesting.com

Another option would be to open a Custodial Account for her and buy from Disney directly. Their Transfer Agent is Broadridge. Their fees are kind of high if I remember. I prefer Capital One.

https://stockplans.broadridge.com/Plan/Summary?planId=104

Once the share is registered, then you can buy a framed certificate from the Disney Store. They don't offer the official stock certificates anymore.

http://www.disneystore.com/collecti...e-shareholder-certificate/mp/1363897/1000202/

 

[mommajo143]

DH got me a share for my 30th BDay. Love it...

http://www.giveashare.com/buydisney...itDckD3T4eiEk3Q5qzy_YpTN3w_aBk4n8IBoCa87w_wcB

 

[tvguy]

Check for your state laws on how the stock must be registered since it is owned by a minor. In California, it HAS to be owned by an adult as a custodian under the California Uniform Transfers to Minors Act. So the ownership would be listed as "Grandmother Jones, as Custodian for Johnny Jones".
Any online broker can handle the purchase for you for the lowest fee, however if you have a financial planner already handling your finances, they might do such a purchase for you at a reduced fee.

 

[crisi]

Rather than a share of Disney stock, consider opening a 529 for her. She won't have the delight of owning a piece of Disney - but as someone who has owned a piece of Disney for years, it isn't that darn delightful. (The stock certificates used to be really cute - but I don't think they've sent them out for years - give a share sends out a replica certificate). The 529 will be long term far more useful than a few stocks over time - and won't have the issues with a minor holding stock for tax purposes that can complicate life for her parents.

 

[Disneyliscious]

Thanks for all these tips and links. I'm going to be spending some time tonight looking through all these. It sounds like it may be easier to buy them in my name and then transfer them to her once she reaches 18 or 21?

Also, I'm not expecting to get into big bucks with this. Just thought about purchasing her a share for her birthday every year until she is 18.

edit: I hadn't thought about how her having a few stocks would impact her parents on their tax return. They don't make much money at all and get a refund each year. Thats something I'll need to look into.

 

[crisi]

It isn't the impact on the return, its the additional hassle. I dumped my kids individual stocks years ago for a 529, but I think I had to include the dividends on my return. 529 just sits there with no impact until you cash it out.

 

[damskipi13]

Since she is a minor, it is a little difficult to get it into her name. I think that Capital One Investing (Sharebuilder) offers Custodial Accounts and they will usually let you reinvest the Dividends for free. Their Trading Fees are very reasonable. There are a couple of free Brokerages but as far as I know they don't offer Custodial Accounts.

https://www.capitaloneinvesting.com

Yes, Capital One Investing offers Custodial Accounts. This is what I've done for my niece and nephew.

OP, if you open a custodial account with you as the holder, it will impact your tax return but not the parents. If you are just talking about one stock, it's going to be very slight - you only pay taxes on the dividends until you sell. The total dividend for 2015 was $1.37 for one stock held the whole year - it's going to be the teeniest blip on your taxes. I think this is a great idea - I have accounts for my niece and nephew that mostly hold index funds, but they are absolutely thrilled to know that they own a piece of Disney. It's been a great way to introduce the topic of investing to them, as well.

 

[tvguy]

Rather than a share of Disney stock, consider opening a 529 for her. She won't have the delight of owning a piece of Disney - but as someone who has owned a piece of Disney for years, it isn't that darn delightful. (The stock certificates used to be really cute - but I don't think they've sent them out for years - give a share sends out a replica certificate). The 529 will be long term far more useful than a few stocks over time - and won't have the issues with a minor holding stock for tax purposes that can complicate life for her parents.

I find the $90 dividend check every quarter very delightful. And yes, you can still get a paper stock certificate, they just charge extra for it, which many companies do. When factoring in all the splits over the years, my per share cost is $8, so $100 today looks pretty darn good too.

 

[crisi]

I find the $90 dividend check every quarter very delightful. And yes, you can still get a paper stock certificate, they just charge extra for it, which many companies do. When factoring in all the splits over the years, my per share cost is $8, so $100 today looks pretty darn good too.

Yeah, I get a way better return on other investments. I've bought and sold Disney a few times over they years, its been profitable - it has never been delightful.

I'm quite delighted with Merck - which I got on the downturn in 2009. I've been delighted with Berkshire. Amazon has been great. And I've loved the dividends on AT&T and Verizon - neither Berkshire or Amazon pay dividends. Disney is a second tier stock for me and a sentimental holding.

(Disney does a semi-annual payout. And for people interested, a $90 semi annual dividend is about $12k worth of stock currently - if you bought and held it since the early 1980s, you've done very well and it cost almost nothing - but a lot of stocks have been pretty profitable if you've held them since the 1980s - we all wish we'd have bought Apple back then. But Disney's last split was in 1998 with a 3:1 split. It split 4:1 in 1992 and 4:1 in 1986 - you have to have been a long term investor to have a per share cost of $8 and a $90 gain. I've bought Disney probably six times during tvguy's holding period, have done pretty well, and currently hold shares.)

 

[manning]

An important advantage of a 529

Although contributions are not deductible, earnings in a 529 plan grow federal tax-free and will not be taxed when the money is taken out to pay for college.

That's a winner for me.

 

[crisi]

An important advantage of a 529

Although contributions are not deductible, earnings in a 529 plan grow federal tax-free and will not be taxed when the money is taken out to pay for college.

That's a winner for me.

And other people can make contributions over time....so if the grandparents or aunts and uncles get on the bandwagon with contributions at birthdays and Christmas (or gift giving holiday you celebrate), you can end up with a tidy amount.

 

[RitaE]

I find the $90 dividend check every quarter very delightful. And yes, you can still get a paper stock certificate, they just charge extra for it, which many companies do. When factoring in all the splits over the years, my per share cost is $8, so $100 today looks pretty darn good too.

No. Disney stopped offering real stock certificates in 2013. The one you can buy now is just a souvenir, although only shareholders are allowed to buy them.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ertificates-head-to-never-never-land/2956765/

 

[craigkerstiens]

You may want to take a look at https://www.stockpile.com/. They're specifically focused on making it easy to gift a specific stock to someone. They were started with the intention of making it easier to gift to children, taking care of custodial account details appropriately, to help them learn about the market a bit more.

 

[tvguy]

No. Disney stopped offering real stock certificates in 2013. The one you can buy now is just a souvenir, although only shareholders are allowed to buy them.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...ertificates-head-to-never-never-land/2956765/

You are correct, however, that's really the same thing to me.

 

[crisi]

You are correct, however, that's really the same thing to me.

Which is why you felt the need to correct me when I said you can get a replica certificate?

 

[tvguy]

Which is why you felt the need to correct me when I said you can get a replica certificate?

It's exclusive to stockholders and nobody is going to know if it is from stock you bought today as opposed to the stock I bought 30 years ago.

 

[manning]

Yeah, I get a way better return on other investments. I've bought and sold Disney a few times over they years, its been profitable - it has never been delightful.

I'm quite delighted with Merck - which I got on the downturn in 2009. I've been delighted with Berkshire. Amazon has been great. And I've loved the dividends on AT&T and Verizon - neither Berkshire or Amazon pay dividends. Disney is a second tier stock for me and a sentimental holding.

(Disney does a semi-annual payout. And for people interested, a $90 semi annual dividend is about $12k worth of stock currently - if you bought and held it since the early 1980s, you've done very well and it cost almost nothing - but a lot of stocks have been pretty profitable if you've held them since the 1980s - we all wish we'd have bought Apple back then. But Disney's last split was in 1998 with a 3:1 split. It split 4:1 in 1992 and 4:1 in 1986 - you have to have been a long term investor to have a per share cost of $8 and a $90 gain. I've bought Disney probably six times during tvguy's holding period, have done pretty well, and currently hold shares.)

Splits aren't that important. You have one share at $100 and split it you have two shares at $50 each with total of $100. The dividend is also cut equal to the split. IE A $2.00 div. is now 1.00 div

Right now the yield is 1.39 percent. I have other stocks ranging in dividend from 3% to 7%.