Should I sell stocks after a buyout?

Question

I am a newcomer to stock trading so please excuse the lack of technical knowledge. I primarily invest with Robinhood.

I bought some Symantec which recently got bought out by Broadcom. Since then the stock name has changed to Norton LifeLock and the stock prices are about the same. I read an older report from August that said that Symantec will pay a dividend of $12 per share in q4 of 2020.

Should I sell the Norton stock now in case it goes down again? How does it affect my dividend if I sell now?

Did you mean a dividend of $12 per share or 12 cents per share? Regarding the dividend, read this: — Bob Baerker, Nov 05 '19 at 16:03
@BobBaerker It's a $12 per share special dividend to return the proceeds of a spin-off to shareholders. — D Stanley, Nov 05 '19 at 16:13
@D Stanley - Thx, got it. I now see that you clearly explained this in your answer below. — Bob Baerker, Nov 05 '19 at 16:25

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 05 '19 at 15:14

Well your facts are a bit off. Symantec is not getting bought out - it is selling it's Enterprise Security business (and its name) to Broadcom and focusing on Norton products. The proceeds of that sale will be distributed to shareholders in a special dividend.

How does it affect my dividend if I sell now?

You won't get it. But it shouldn't matter - the stock will drop by $12 when it pays the dividend, so you can either sell a $24 stock now or wait and have a ~$12 stock (if the price doesn't change) and $12 in cash. Between now and then, it's anybody's guess whether the stock will go up or down, but the dividend shouldn't factor into your decision.

The dividend might matter for tax purposes? – Nov 05 '19 at 16:47 — , Nov 05 '19 at 16:47

Should I sell stocks after a buyout?

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