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Sunday, August 31, 2014

Monthly Review, August 2014

At the end of every month, I review the month's actions with regards to DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. At the same time, I update my blog's Performance page, which provides a central place for reviewing DivGro's status and performance relative to prior months and the markets.

In August, I added two new stocks, PM and DE. DivGro now has 34 different holdings, so I'm almost at my goal of 36 holdings balanced across the 10 sectors in my watch list. In the next few months, I need to add three stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector, and one each in Consumer Staples, Financials, Industrials, Materials and Utilities.

This month, I was nominated for a Liebster Award, a kind of chain letter in which one blogger nominates 5 others to answer 5 questions; and then likewise nominates 5 more bloggers with a new set of 5 questions to answer... It is a fun way to shine the spotlight on fellow blogger's sites and to get to know the bloggers better.

The past few weeks I worked on creating an expanded Blogroll page. The blogroll focuses on dividend growth investing and related passive income generation blogs. I'm highlighting blogs that include public portfolios by using links marked ¶.

In August, DivGro's monthly dividend income dropped a little to $351. Still, compared with August 2013 when I earned only $162, that's a great increase! DivGro now has a market value of $110,180 and is delivering an average yield on cost of 5.00%. Projected monthly income is $389, up from $372 at the end of July.

This month, I invested in Philip Morris International Inc. (PM), my fourth holding in the Consumer Staples sector; and in Deere and Company (DE), my fourth holding in the Industrials sector. These are DivGro's 33rd and 34th holdings, respectively.

Transactions:
  • Purchases
  • Dividends
    • 2014-08-01: Return of Capital ETP:  $95.50
    • 2014-08-07: Return of Capital APU:  $105.60
    • 2014-08-08: Cash Dividend Receipt GD: $21.70
    • 2014-08-13: Cash Dividend Receipt ACE:  $15.60
    • 2014-08-14: Cash Dividend Receipt VNR:  $37.80
    • 2014-08-20: Cash Dividend Receipt CAT:  $21.00
    • 2014-08-27: Cash Dividend Receipt TGH:  $35.25
    • 2014-08-29: Cash Dividend Receipt PRE:  $18.09
  • Deposits
    • 2014-08-05: Bonus Cash Deposit: $1,000
    • 2014-08-29: SEPTEMBER Cash Deposit: $2,500

New Dividends and Dividend Increases:
  • The purchase of PM added $116.56 of projected annual dividend income.
  • The purchase of DE added $72.00 of projected annual dividend income.
  • WAG's dividend raise added $3.96 of projected annual dividend income.
  • MO's dividend raise added $12.00 of projected annual dividend income.
  • BBL's dividend raise added $6.88 of projected annual dividend income.
  • Projected annual dividend income: $4,673.90

Dividend Summary:
  • Dividend income last month: $395.73
  • Dividend income this month: $350.54
  • Total dividend income year-to-date: $2.310.70

Markets:
Jul 31, 2014
DOW: 16,533.60 S&P 500: 1,930.67 10-YR BOND: 2.51%
Aug 29, 2014
DOW: 17.098.45 S&P 500: 2,003.37 10-YR BOND: 2.34%

The markets climbed higher in August, but on low volume. For the month, the Dow gained 3.42% and the S&P 500 gained 3.77%. DivGro trailed the performance of the overall markets, but gained 2.60% nevertheless.

Portfolio: The following spreadsheet shows the state of DivGro on August 31, 2014:

Looking Ahead: I have enough funds for a single purchase in September. I'll be looking to buy a stock in any of the following sectors: Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Financials, Industrials, Materials or Utilities. I'll be updating the Performance page with this month's information soon. I'm also moving forward on adding advertisements to my blog and I'm planning to write articles for The DIV-Net and Seeking Alpha.

Thanks for reading! How did your portfolio do in August? 

20 comments :

  1. Great dividend income as usual. Your last 4 quarters have been fantastic. I love your dividend chart, what did you use to make it? Thx

    CD

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Captain Dividend! At this pace I should easily reach and surpass my goal of earning $3,600 of dividend income in 2014. I use Google Sheets and its charting function to create the dividend chart. Let me know if you have questions about that -- I would be glad to help.

      Cheers
      FerdiS

      Delete
    2. That's what I use but I dunno how you got your trend line added to the chart. I'm a google docs noob.Thx

      Delete
    3. No problem -- here's what I do:

      1. Create 3 columns of data with headers "Month", "Dividends Received" and "Projected Monthly Dividend Income".
      2. Select data including headers, and click "Insert chart" button on toolbar.
      3. Click the "Charts" tab and choose "Line", then choose the bar and line chart (3rd down)
      4. Customize title, legend, fonts, and colors under the "Customize" tab.

      Hope that helps!

      Cheers
      FerdiS

      Delete
    4. Thanks I think I figured it out using the =AVERAGE( B1:B4) formula. It's a bit clunky but it works I guess.

      Delete
    5. I'm not sure why you're using the AVERAGE formula. Is your idea to average out dividends received over a moving four quarter period?

      The red line graph in my chart is "Projected Monthly Dividend Income", or what other bloggers call "forward" dividends. I define "Projected Monthly Dividend Income" as average monthly dividend income I can expect to earn over the next year.

      Delete
  2. Cranking along quite well! Given how much growth you've seen in the last 12 months, it will be fantastic to see how much your portfolio turns over on itself next year given the $5k plus of dividends you will receive. That is an extra two months worth of extra capital given your $2,500 contribution rate. And thanks again for including my blog on your blogroll, much appreciated! Should be mostly caught of from my missed monthly posts by the end of the month!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, writing2reality -- and you're quite welcome -- I enjoy your blog and love the pictures and graphics you use to add color to your site.

      Indeed, last month I could buy two new stocks after adding just a $1,000 bonus deposit; the other $1,500 came from dividends... It is exciting to see the snowball pick up more layers of snow as it is slowly rolling along. And the bigger it gets, the faster it picks up more snow!

      Take care!
      FerdiS

      Delete
  3. Hi FerdiS,

    Congratulation on the even increasing dividend income. I hope to achieve that amount soon enough to experience the snowball effect.

    David

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi David! Thanks for stopping by and commenting... one stock at a time and a mix of determination and patience, and you'll be there faster than you think! Best of luck with your journey to financial freedom!

      Cheers
      FerdiS

      Delete
  4. Nice month DivGro...som great dividends coupled with a few great purchases! We also bought DE recently as we feel it is attractively priced and has good long term prospects.

    By the way, very nice chart! You've consistently grown your dividends during these last 1-2 years. Keep it up!

    Wishing you continued success in your journey. :) AFFJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks AFFJ! For me, the cool thing about the chart is that it shows the actual dividends received in relation to the projected annual dividend income. While both are growing, dividend growth investing is working nicely!

      I also like DE at this price and over time I believe it will provide great dividend income.

      Thanks for the good wishes, and I hope your journey is similarly successful!

      Cheers
      FerdiS

      Delete
  5. Great job with $350 in dividend income. I just passed $300 for the first time for a non-Mar/Jun/Sept/Dec month which is a pretty great feeling. Even better is the 5 companies that gave you raises this month. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congratulations on reaching the $300 milestone in the lower paying months! That's great!

      I love reporting on dividend increases. $4 or $12 sounds like very little, until you realize that it is $4 or $12 every year into perpetuity (forever) -- or until you sell your stock.

      Cheers
      FerdiS

      Delete
  6. Well over $300 in dividend income for the month is a great feat. Congrats. Keep up the investing and compounding. Look forward to your next update.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, DivHut!

      I'm still working hard at growing the capital component of DivGro -- and I'll continue to do so at least through the end of this year. Next year, I may have to slow down a bit... due to changing financial situation. Hopefully, not too much, though...

      Take care!
      FerdiS

      Delete
  7. $300 in a single month is a great accomplishment. I'm currently sitting around $120 but have high hopes that by this time next year I will be sitting north of $300.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting, MrStockFox! You'll be over $300 per month before you know it -- just keep on working hard and investing in DGI stocks!

      Delete
  8. Great month. You should be breaking the $400 mark in the coming months. Keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Gareth! Yes, my projected monthly dividend income should cross the $400 mark with my next purchase, as I'm just $11 from that mark. And I'm expecting September to be a big month...

      Delete

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