Monthly Review: December 2013

Its that time of year when many people reflect on the past year and resolve to be different or to do better next year. As a newby blogger, I get to write my first triple review: this monthly review, followed by a quarterly and an annual review.

The month of December was a busy one for DivGro! I wrote eleven posts, the most of any month in 2013. The main reason is that I made another bonus deposit, which afforded the opportunity to buy 5 more stocks! In the process, I've managed to diversify my holdings in DivGro to several new sectors. DivGro's projected annual dividend income now stands at $2,865, a yield of 3.81% given DivGro's market value of $75,145.

I bought shares of Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR), Northeast Utilities (NU), Target Corporation (TGT), Baxter International, Inc. (BAX) and Walgreen Company (WAG). These buys increased the number of holdings in DivGro to 24 and I now have at least one holding in each sector in my watch list.

I received $262 in dividend payments from 11 stocks this month, increasing total dividend income for 2013 to $1,347. This is the most dividend income I've received in a single month.

Here's an updated chart showing the growth of projected monthly dividend income since January 2013. The growth comes from dividend increases and from new dividend paying stocks being added to DivGro. For December, projected monthly dividend income is $239, up from $207 last month. I'll continue to reinvest all dividend income, along with cash from regular monthly deposits.

Transactions:

• Purchases
• 2013-12-04: BUY 105 SJR @ $23.03
• 2013-12-04: BUY 60 NU @ $41.02
• 2013-12-04: BUY 40 TGT @ $62.90
• 2013-12-09: BUY 37 BAX @ $67.71
• 2013-12-10: BUY 44 WAG @ $56.72
• Dividends
• 2013-12-02: Cash Dividend Receipt COP:  $26.22
• 2013-12-02: Cash Dividend Receipt AFL:  $18.50
• 2013-12-02: Cash Dividend Receipt INTC:  $27.00
• 2013-12-10: Cash Dividend Receipt XOM:  $18.90
• 2013-12-10: Cash Dividend Receipt CVX:  $25.00
• 2013-12-12: Cash Dividend Receipt MSFT:  $22.40
• 2013-12-13: Cash Dividend Receipt VNR:  $37.50
• 2013-12-16: Cash Dividend Receipt NTT:  $42.04
• 2013-12-30: Cash Dividend Receipt SJR:  $8.34
• 2013-12-31: Cash Dividend Receipt NU:  $22.05
• 2013-12-31: Cash Dividend Receipt TRV:  $14.50
• Deposits
• 2013-12-03: Bonus Cash Deposit: $10,000
• 2013-12-31: JAN Cash Deposit: $2,500

New Dividends and Dividend Increases:

• The purchase of SJR added $107.10 of projected annual dividend income.
• The purchase of NU added $88.20 of projected annual dividend income.
• The purchase of TGT added $68.80 of projected annual dividend income.
• The purchase of BAX added $72.52 of projected annual dividend income.
• The purchase of WAG added $55.44 of projected annual dividend income.
• NTT'S dividend decrease reduced projected annual dividend income by $11.02.
• Projected annual dividend income: $2,864.94

Dividend Summary:

• Dividend income last month: $127.48
• Dividend income this month: $262.30
• Total dividend income year-to-date: $1,346.85

Markets:

Nov 30, 2013	DOW: 16,086.41 S&P 500: 1,805.81 10-YR BOND: 2.74%
Dec 31, 2013	DOW: 16,576.66 S&P 500: 1,848.36 10-YR BOND: 3.03%

The bull market continued in December, with the S&P 500 up 2.36% and the DOW up 3.05%. This is making stock selection for dividend growth investing increasingly difficult!

Portfolio: The following spreadsheet shows DivGro's current holdings:
Yields: The following spreadsheet shows current yield on cost and cumulative dividends received:
Looking Ahead: Soon, I'll post my Q4 review and my first annual review of DivGro. In the new year, I have some stretching goals for DivGro, including trying to earn $3,600 in dividend income and increasing projected annual dividend income to $4,800. I'm increasing my monthly deposits to $2,500 so I can average one stock purchase per month. In 2014, I want to increase the number of holdings in DivGro from 24 to 36.

I want to wish my readers a happy and prosperous new year!