Realizing your profit is what investing is all about. Paper profits may look good, but money in the bank is what pays for your child’s education or enables you to retire early. If your stock is selling for a high price and is now a large part of your portfolio, you might want to sell.

What’s more, if you’re contemplating selling the stock, you don’t want to sell before the stock reaches its peak. In other words, you want to sell at the best price, before the stock starts to decline. What should you do? The following list gives you some ideas:

• Suppose that you purchased your shares in 1996 and, despite market downturns, your stock is currently selling for 50 percent more than your purchase price. If the stock isn’t likely to go any higher, you may want to take the money and run.
• Set a target price that might not be your sell price but will be a benchmark. If your stock reaches the benchmark price, reevaluate your investment plan. Make certain that you check similar companies to see whether they’re selling at the same level or higher. If so, you might want to raise your target price.
• If a winner now represents more than 10 percent of your portfolio, you might want to sell part of your holdings. That way, you lock in part of the profit and still benefit if the stock keeps rising.
• Don’t try to sell at the stock’s top price. You didn’t buy at the bottom, so don’t expect to sell at the very top. Even after all your analyses, you still need to rely on your gut feelings about the right time to sell.