Dividend Increases, September 16-30, 2014

Twice a month, I report on dividend increase announcements for stocks in my watch list, a subset of David Fish's CCC stocks (Champions, Contenders, and Challengers) and a few non-CCC holdings in DivGro. I find this to be a useful way to identify dividend growth candidates, because companies that increase their dividends regularly show confidence in future earnings growth.

Another reason for monitoring dividend increases is to track the yield on cost (YoC) of stocks I own. When dividends are increased, I make YoC adjustments and update DivGro's projected annual dividend income. 

This month, three of DivGro's holdings announced dividend increases. MSFT increased its quarterly dividend by 3¢ per share, or nearly 11%. MCD announced a more modest increase of 4.94%, while PMT is increasing its dividend by 3.39%.

Recent Sell: SNP

Sep 26, 2014: Sold 31 shares of SNP at $90.21 per share.

On Wednesday I sold my CHL shares and today I'm following that up by selling all my shares of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (SNP). In this post, I'll explain why I'm parting ways with SNP, though the main reason for selling is the same as in the case of CHL!

As a dividend growth investor, I like to maintain and grow dividend income over time. If a stock I hold in DivGro gets a dividend cut, I'm no longer interested in keeping it. Instead, I'll sell my shares and look for a substitute. As I mentioned yesterday, I dislike selling DivGro holdings, but I dislike dividend cuts even more!

Recent Sell: CHL

Sep 24, 2014: Sold 47 shares of CHL at $61.40 per share.

Yesterday I sold all my shares of China Mobile Ltd. (CHL), a provider of mobile telecommunications services in China and Hong Kong. This is only the second time that I've sold shares since starting DivGro in January 2013. The purpose of this post is to explain why I decided to part ways with CHL.

I list several rejection criteria to consider when evaluating a stock for removal from DivGro. Some relate to stock performance and extraordinary events, such as mergers. Another relates to the dividend payment and, specifically, whether it is suspended, cut, or frozen. In the case of CHL, my reason for selling is due to CHL's recent dividend cut.

Recent Buy: MCD

Sep 22, 2014: Bought 27 shares of MCD at $93.97 per share.

Founded in 1955 by Ray Kroc and incorporated in December 1964, McDonald's Corp. (MCD) is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with over 35,000 locations in more than 100 countries. Operating primarily as a franchisor, MCD owns the land and building or secures long-term leases for both franchised and company-operated restaurant sites. More than 80% of McDonald's restaurants are owned and operated by independent business men and women. About 57% are conventional franchisees and 24% are licensed to foreign affiliates or developmental licensees.

MCD is a Dividend Champion with an impressive streak of 39 years of dividend increases. It pays quarterly dividends in March, June, September and December. The newly announced dividend of 85¢ per share makes my starting yield on cost 3.62%. With two consecutive dividend increases of only about 5%, MCD's 5-year dividend growth rate is now 9.86%.

Why I'm not selling INTC. Yet.

Intel Corp (INTC) recently declared its next quarterly dividend. I'm one of the shareholders that were holding out for the chip maker's long-awaited dividend boost. There has been no raise in 10 quarters, yet INTC could still salvage its status as a Dividend Contender. A just-in-time increase would have kept the company's streak of consecutive years of dividend increases alive.

Unfortunately, the board of directors decided to pay out 22.5¢ per share, again! That's eleven quarters without a dividend raise. Effectively, as far as dividend growth investors are concerned, INTC froze its dividend:

Dividend Increases, September 1-15, 2014

I'm pleased when stocks in my watch list of dividend growth stocks announce dividend increases, even if I don't own the stocks in question. It reaffirms that those stocks belong in my watch list. Also, it prompts me to take a good look at them. Companies that regularly increase dividends, show confidence in their ability to pay those increasing dividends.

Another reason for monitoring dividend increase announcements is to see if stocks I own will be changing their dividend payments. If so, I make Yield on Cost (YoC) adjustments and update DivGro's projected annual dividend income. This month, one of DivGro's holdings, Philip Morris International Inc (PM), announced a dividend increase of 6.38%.

My Dynamic Watch List

I maintain a watch list of dividend growth stocks that I update at least once a month, sometimes more frequently. It contains all of DivGro's holdings, as well as a subset of David Fish's CCC stocks. Currently, there are 183 stocks in the watch list. The watch list is organized by sector using GICS sector names.

I reference the watch list every month when compiling a dashboard of the best dividend growth stocks. September's dashboard has HP, XOM, and PMT in the top spots. I use the dashboard to compile a list of candidates, one per sector, for further research. Until DivGro is nicely diversified by sector, I'll continue to bias my purchases to sectors that are under-represented.

Stock Analysis: MAT

Founded in 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, CA., Mattel Inc. (MAT) is the world's largest manufacturer of toys and games. The company makes toys under the brands Mattel, American Girl, Barbie, Batman, Dora the Explorer, Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Sesame Street, View-Master, Winnie the Pooh, Yu-Gi-Oh, and many more. The company sells directly to retailers and wholesalers, and through agents and distributors in countries where it has no direct presence.

MAT is a Dividend Challenger with 5 consecutive years of dividend increases. The company's 5-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 13.9%. It pays quarterly dividends of $0.38 per share in the months of March, June, September, and December. At the current price of $35.10, MAT yields an impressive 4.33%.

10 Dividend Growth Stocks for September, 2014

Every month, I use David Fish's CCC list to search for stocks trading at a discount to fair value. The CCC list is updated monthly and contains all U.S.-listed stocks that have raised their dividends for at least five consecutive years. The accompanying spreadsheet provides key statistics of all the CCC stocks and is a wonderful resource for dividend growth investors.

This month's list contains 553 stocks. I use a series of filters to reduce the number of stocks to about 200 candidates, which, along with DivGro's holdings, form my watch list. Until DivGro is nicely diversified, I'll continue to search for the best available candidates by sector and bias my purchases to sectors that are under-represented.