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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Monthly Review, March 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.

In March 2015, dividend income totaled $648, which is a new all-time record for monthly dividend income! In comparison, dividend income last March was $359. That represents an 81% year-over-year increase!

At the end of March, DivGro's market value was $144,151 and the portfolio is delivering an average yield on cost (YoC) of 4.35%. Projected monthly dividend income increased to $467 from $447 last month.



I added 3 stocks to DivGro in March:
  • initiated a position in T. Rowe Price Group Inc (NASDAQ:TROW), a financial services holding company that provides global investment management services to individual and institutional investors.
  • I also initiated a position in Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O), an equity real estate investment trust dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income.
  • Finally, I initiated a position in Gap Inc. (NYSE: GAP), a global apparel retail company that offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products under various well-known brand names.
Transactions:
  • Purchases
  • Dividends
    • 2015-03-02: Cash Dividend Receipt AFL: $19.50
    • 2015-03-02: Cash Dividend Receipt HP: $48.13
    • 2015-03-02: Cash Dividend Receipt COP: $27.74
    • 2015-03-02: Cash Dividend Receipt INTC: $28.80
    • 2015-03-10: Cash Dividend Receipt TGT: $20.80
    • 2015-03-10: Cash Dividend Receipt TGH: $35.25
    • 2015-03-10: Cash Dividend Receipt IBM: $33.00
    • 2015-03-10: Cash Dividend Receipt XOM: $20.70
    • 2015-03-10: Cash Dividend Receipt CVX: $53.50
    • 2015-03-10: Cash Dividend Receipt JNJ: $21.00
    • 2015-03-12: Cash Dividend Receipt WBA: $14.85
    • 2015-03-12: Cash Dividend Receipt MSFT: $24.80
    • 2015-03-13: Cash Dividend Receipt MDP: $25.16
    • 2015-03-13: Cash Dividend Receipt AVA: $24.75
    • 2015-03-16: Cash Dividend Receipt MCD: $22.95
    • 2015-03-17: Cash Dividend Receipt VNR: $21.15
    • 2015-03-31: Cash Dividend Receipt BBL: $124.00
    • 2015-03-31: Cash Dividend Receipt ES: $25.05
    • 2015-03-31: Cash Dividend Receipt TRV: $15.95
    • 2015-03-31: Cash Dividend Receipt DLR: $40.80
  • Deposits
    • 2015-02-27: April Cash Deposit: $2,500.00

Changes in Projected Annual Dividend Income:
  • The purchase of 60 GPS shares added $55.20.
  • The purchase of 30 TROW shares added $62.40.
  • The purchase of 50 O shares added $113.70.
  • GD's dividend increase added $9.80.
  • ES's dividend increase added $6.00.
  • Projected annual dividend income (31 March 2015): $5,609.09.

Dividend Summary:
  • Dividend income last month: $357.75
  • Dividend income this month: $647.88
  • Total dividend income year-to-date: $1,337.83

Markets:
Feb 28, 2015
DOW: 18,132.70S&P 500: 2,104.50 10-YR BOND: 2.00%
Mar 31, 2015
DOW: 17,776.12S&P 500: 2,067.89 10-YR BOND: 1.93%

March was a down month across the board, with the Dow dropping 1.97% and the S&P 500 dropping 1.74%. In comparison, DivGro was down 1.77%.

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

Goals Progress: Below is a chart showing progress on my 2015 goals. I'm happy to report that I wrote my first article for The DIV-Net. Of course, I'm behind on my goal of writing one such article per month and I hope to be doing some catching-up in the next few months. As expected, March was a stellar month for dividend income, so I made great progress on my goal of earning $6,000 in dividend income this year. I'm also happy to report that I'm back on track with my weight loss goal, even though there's more catching up to do...
Looking Ahead: I have enough cash for three new buys in April. Look for another quarterly review soon...

Thanks for reading! 

18 comments :

  1. Wow...thats a neat sum of money in dividend income. Congrats DivGro. Like the purchases you made in Mar as well.

    Best wishes
    R2R

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi R2R -- thanks for commenting. I'm very pleased with the new monthly record; it absolutely thrashes the previous monthly record of $497! Onwards and upwards!

      Cheers
      FerdiS

      Delete
  2. Great job on the 81% yoy increase and reaching your all time high. I love seeing fellow investor's result! To me this is what investing is about. Receiving passive income from our investments and the fruit of our hard work! Keep up the great job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, FrugalitytoFinancialFreedom -- I agree; I continue to be inspired by other blogger's results. It really is exhilarating to see money you've earned before earn some more... And to see what difference a year of dividend growth investing makes, is great as well. Take care!

      Delete
  3. That's some great YoY growth of your dividend income Ferdi. And I like the purchases you made during the month as well. I need to get back on the wagon in regards to my own weight loss goals for this year because I was making solid progress earlier this month. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, PiP -- for me, the weight loss goal is the hardest to keep up with, 'cause it continues to fluctuate seemingly uncontrollably. As mentioned above, its nice to see what difference a year of DGI makes. I've got some challenging goals this year, but I feel good about my progress so far.

      Take care!

      Delete
  4. Ferdi,

    Awesome result there. Over $600 in completely passive income. That covers my rent and then some! :)

    You're off to a great start this year for all of your other goals as well.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jason! Thanks for stopping by. I'm very happy with the new record monthly dividend income. Lots to love about the end of quarter months as far as dividend income goes!

      Take care!

      Delete
  5. Such a solid month, Ferdi. That dividend income is eye-popping! I really liked your purchases over the month, and especially how you commented back to the no-brainers on seeking alpha about your realty income stake. You're so awesome! Keep up the great work :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words, Ryan! Twenty dividend "checks" sure are welcome... With DivGro now at 41 holdings and a couple of monthly payers, that's a lot to look forward to each month!

      Yeah, some of the Seeking Alpha commenters are intense. I try to be a positive and courteous as possible when answering. The pros far outweigh the cons and I've learned a tremendous amount by interacting with readers, so I'll just keep doing so...

      Thanks for your support!

      Delete
  6. Great month! Thanks for the summary. I only had 2 payouts, but I'm excited to be back in the game again :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks FI Fighter -- its great to see you back in the game. Your portfolio has grown quickly and you'll see some great returns soon enough!

      Take care and keep on fighting!

      Delete
  7. Congrats on a very nice month DivGro! It's also really exciting that you have enough money for 3 new purchases this coming month. Hopefully you find some good deals out there! MSFT and HP look pretty good.

    Keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks ADD, I'm looking forward to seeing how I can best deploy those funds. After this past month's dividend income, I nearly have enough for 4 purchases. I love reinvesting dividends!

      I've been eyeing MSFT -- I'll see is my April analysis picks it out. I'm doubled up on HP, so I'll steer clear of that on for now. But I think its still trading at a nice discount...

      Delete
  8. Awesome month! You destroyed your previous record high. I'll have to find your Realty Income article on Seeking Alpha that that Ryan mentioned above. I'd love to read some of those comments. Best of luck in April!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Scott -- yeah, isn't it nice to get new record highs every few months? Some commenters on Seeking Alpha are intense... it seems like they are "professional" commenters who want to get the last word in!

      Thanks for visiting and all the best for you, too!

      Delete
  9. Been on vacation, so I am just catching up. Performance is awesome, blog is awesome and analysis great. Keep it up. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Mike -- hope you had a great vacation. Take care!

      Delete

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