Final answer:
To calculate the percentage of total shares owned, divide the number of shares you own by the total number of outstanding shares and multiply by 100. Owning 36,000 out of 1.8 million shares results in a 2% ownership.
Step-by-step explanation:
If you own 36,000 shares of common stock in a firm with 1.8 million total shares outstanding, to find the percentage of the total shares you own, you use the following formula:
Percentage Ownership = (Number of shares owned / Total shares outstanding) x 100
In your case, it would be:
Percentage Ownership = (36,000 / 1,800,000) x 100
Percentage Ownership = 0.02 x 100
Percentage Ownership = 2%
So, you own 2% of the total shares in the firm.