Quarterly Review, Q4-2013

My first DivGro post was on January 10, 2013, so just 8 more days before the first anniversary of this blog! It's been quite an adventure! I've learned a lot in the past year, yet I know there's a lot more to learn...

With the fourth quarter of DivGro behind us, its time again to look at the portfolio's performance.

During this past quarter, I've contributed capital funds in the amount of $24,500 to DivGro, including two bonus deposits of $10,000 each. Dividend income in Q4 totaled $586.74, up from $385.89 received in Q3. This is the third consecutive quarterly dividend increase for DivGro.

I purchased shares in nine new dividend growth stocks, adding $1,085.31 to DivGros's projected annual dividend income, which now totals $2,864.94.

Markets:

Oct 1, 2013	DOW: 15,129.67 S&P 500: 1,681.55 10-YR BOND: 2.62%
Dec 31, 2013	DOW: 16,576.55 S&P 500: 1,848.36 10-YR BOND: 3.03%

In the quarter ending December 2013, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 9.56% and the S&P 500 increased 9.92%. In comparison, DivGro's value increased by 35.83% (when measured by internal rate of return (IRR) for Q4, while accounting for dividends). That is a phenomenal return!

At the end of Q4, DivGro's value of $75,145 represented a simple return of 13% on $66,500 invested. Of course, the simple return does not take into account the timing and size of cash deposits as IRR does. I'll report on DivGro's IRR in my first annual review of DivGro, which I hope to write this weekend.

Here is a spreadsheet summarizing DivGro's performance for Q4-2013:

Dividend Adjustments:

• ETP increased its distribution from 89.38¢ to 90.50¢ per unit, an increase of 1.26%. This increase adds a modest $4.50 to DivGro's projected annual dividend income. Yield on Cost (YoC) of ETP is now 7.63%.
• NTT's first semi-annual dividend decreased from 43.94¢ to 40.93¢ per share. This effectively reduces DivGro's projected annual dividend income by $11.03. YoC for NTT is now 3.54%.
• AFL's dividend increase of 5.71% raises DivGro's projected annual dividend income by $4. YoC is now 2.96%.
• MSFT increased its quarterly dividend from 23¢ to 28¢ per share, an increase of nearly 22%. The increase adds $16 to projected annual dividend income. YoC is now 3.53%.

Dividends Received:

• Total for Q4 of 2013: $586.74 (up from $385.89 for Q3 of 2013)
• Total year-to-date: $1,346.85

Dividend Details 2013-10-01: Cash Dividend Receipt PNNT:  $60.20 2013-10-10: Cash Dividend Receipt CHL:  $46.26 2013-10-31: Return of Capital ETP:  $90.50 2013-11-14: Cash Dividend Receipt VNR:  $37.35 2013-11-15: Cash Dividend Receipt GD:  $19.60 2013-11-20: Cash Dividend Receipt CAT:  $18.00 2013-11-26: Cash Dividend Receipt TGH:  $35.25 2013-11-29: Cash Dividend Receipt PRE:  $17.28 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

Outlook For Q1-2014: DivGro's first anniversary will be on January 10^th. This year, I'm increasing my monthly deposits to $2,500 in order to buy one stock per month, on average. This will allow me to increase DivGro's number of holdings to 36, by year-end, which is one of my goals for 2014. Look for my first annual review of DivGro's performance in the next week or so. I'll report on DivGro's performance relative to that of the S&P 500.