common stock A class of stock having first rights to dividends of a corporation preferred stock A class of stock that provides no preference rights to shareholders par value The account used to record the difference when issue price exceeds par value of stock Paid-In Capital in Excess of Par The number of shares sold to stockholders transfer agent A financial institution that records and maintains records of another company's stockholders. issued shares The dollar amount assigned to each share of stock authorized shares The maximum number of shares a company can issue to shareholders