Question

On June 13, the board of directors of Siewert Inc. declared a 2-for-1 stock split on its 120 million, $1 par, common shares, to be distributed on July 1. The market price of Siewert common stock was $35 on June 13. Prepare a journal entry that summarizes the declaration and distribution of the stock split if it is not to be effected in the form of a stock dividend. What is the par per share after the split

Answer 1

Siewert Inc.

Journal Entry:

Memo: This is note that the stock has been split 2-for-1 and the number of common shares increased to 240 (120 x 2) million.

No journal entry is required for a split of 2-for-1 shares. What is required is a memo that indicates that the shares have been split.

The par value is now $0.50 ($1/2)

Step-by-step explanation:

When the directors of Siewert Inc. declare a stock split, it does not require any journal entry. Instead, a memo is required to describe the declaration and the new number of shares that are now authorized if this has increased, and outstanding. The 2-for-1 split means that stockholders who held 1 share before will now be entitled to 2 shares. This doubling of the number of shares will affect the par value of the shares, causing it to divide by 2. For example, Siewert Inc.'s par value of common shares was $1 before the declaration of the split. After the split, the par value will change to $0.50 or half. This split will also affect the market price of the shares as investors are likely to reduce the current market price to about half of its prevailing price.