Tina Jessick's Blog

Common stockholders are partial owners of the company.

Being an owner means stockholders have rights such as right to pro-rata share of dividends.

Stockholders do not have a vote when dividends get paid, it is made by the Board of Directors. Board of directors set the company’s direction of actions.

If it is declared then stockholders have rights to receive their pro-rata share.

If investors want to monitor how a company is performing they have rights to inspect books and records.

Sometimes common stockholders are offered rights to maintain proportionate ownership of a company.

Common stocks can generally be bought and sold freely with exceptions.