The Gift of Stock

Q: Can I give single shares of stock as holiday gifts? If so, how?

— D.Y., Lawrence, Kan.

A: You sure can, and it's a gift idea that could transform your loved ones' financial futures.

You can buy one share of a stock as a gift at Web sites such as www.registerstock.com and www. oneshare.com. It's not the smartest way to invest for yourself, though, as you may pay $15 or more in fees to buy one $30 share of stock (that would cost you 50 percent from the get-go). But if it's a gift, the recipient ends up with a $30 stock that might be worth $60 or much more one day.

When buying stock for yourself, take commissions and fees into account. Try to not pay more than 2 or 3 percent of an investment's value in fees. (For a $500 investment, that would be $10 or $15.) Learn more about how to invest effectively with just a few dollars via direct investment plans or dividend reinvestment plans ("DRIPs") at www.dripcentral. com and www.fool.com/School/ DRIPs.htm.

Q: Where can I find historical prices of a stock? I want to learn how much it traded for on a particular day some years ago.

— O.M., Dover, N.H.

A: Sometimes the company itself can tell you. Try giving its investor relations department a call. Another good resource is your public library, where librarians should be able to help you look up the price in newspaper archives or elsewhere. If you're online, it's much easier. Click over to http://finance.yahoo.com, type in the company's ticker symbol, and once you get its quote page, click on the "Historical Prices" link in the blue box on the left side of the page.

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