When an exchange-listed equity security is traded, it is reported on the Consolidated Tape. It is called the “consolidated” tape, because it consolidates trade information of listed securities from every exchange in the country. The place where the trade took place is not indicated on the tape.
Trades on the floor of the exchange must be reported within 30 seconds of execution. The tape continually displays last transaction information in the following manner:
Number of round lots
Ticker symbol
Price of the transaction
For example: 20s WMT 54.08 would mean the last transaction was 2000 shares of Walmart sold for $54.08 per share.
When there is no number ahead of the ticker symbol, you can assume that a round lot of 100 shares was sold. Trades over 10,000 shares and stocks trading at a price greater than $175 show the number of shares, not the number of round lots.
