Monthly Review, January 2015

Every month, I review the past month's activities relating 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 the markets and to prior months.

At the end of January, DivGro's market value was $120,827. Projected monthly dividend income increased to $434 from $407 last month. The portfolio is delivering an average yield on cost (YoC) of 4.57%. I collected $332 in dividend income, representing an increase of 174% over last January's dividend income of $121.

Another bonus deposit afforded the luxury of three buys in January. I initiated a position in Starwood Property Trust Inc (NYSE:STWD), a real estate investment trust yielding 8.13%. I also initiated a position in The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), fortuitously a week before exceptional first quarter earnings results inspired an 8% hike in the share price. Finally, I added to my position in International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM), averaging down to a per share cost basis of $169.85.

Transactions:

• Purchases
• 2015-01-16: Buy 110 shares of STWD @ $23.61
• 2015-01-27: Buy 27 shares of DIS @ $94.32
• 2015-01-27: Buy 16 shares of IBM @ $154.04
• Dividends
• 2015-01-02: Cash Dividend Receipt BAX: $19.24
• 2015-01-02: Cash Dividend Receipt PNNT: $60.20
• 2015-01-05: Cash Dividend Receipt WMT: $16.32
• 2015-01-05: Cash Dividend Receipt ACE: $15.60
• 2015-01-09: Cash Dividend Receipt PM: $31.00
• 2015-01-09: Cash Dividend Receipt MO: $39.00
• 2015-01-14: Cash Dividend Receipt VNR: $37.80
• 2015-01-15: Cash Dividend Receipt DLR: $17.61
• 2015-01-16: Cash Dividend Receipt PMT: $73.20
• Deposits
• 2015-01-21: Bonus Cash Deposit: $10,000.00
• 2015-01-28: February Cash Deposit: $2,500.00

Changes in Projected Annual Dividend Income:

• The purchase of 110 STWD shares added $211.20.
• The purchase of 16 IBM shares added $70.40.
• The purchase of 27 DIS shares added $31.05.
• ETP's dividend increase added $8.00.
• Projected annual dividend income (31 January 2015): $5,206.35.

Dividend Summary:

• Dividend income last month: $480.02
• Dividend income this month: $332.20
• Total dividend income year-to-date: $332.20

Markets:

Dec 31, 2014	DOW: 17,823.07 S&P 500: 2,058.90 10-YR BOND: 2.17%
Jan 31, 2015	DOW: 17,164.95 S&P 500: 1,994.99 10-YR BOND: 1.67%

In January, the Dow dropped -3.69% and the S&P 500 dropped -3.10%. In comparison, DivGro dropped -2.15%.

Portfolio: See my Performance page for a spreadsheet showing the state of DivGro on 31 January 2015.

Goals Progress: I'm off to a good start on my 2015 goals. Dividend income is lagging, but that is to be expected. It will accelerate throughout the year as I deploy fresh cash and reinvest dividends. I have yet to write my first DivNet article. I'm planning on doing that soon. I'm doing reasonably well with my health and fitness goals, although the increased exercising has not yet translated in significant weight loss. I'll have to work harder on that!

Looking Ahead: Having deposited more bonus cash, I'm looking forward to reporting on several new buys in February. Also, I have yet to report on some early February buys and I still need to write my first DivNet article. Things are busier at work, so I'm finding it increasingly hard to stay up-to-date with my blog...

Thanks for reading!