Monthly Review: June 2016

This month I initiated my first option trades in DivGro, one covered call and one cash-secured put. I've been trading options for several years, though not within the context of my dividend growth portfolio. One of my goals this year is to find opportunities to generate extra income with options. Selling options and collecting the premiums provide a nice way to boost dividend income.

Market volatility increased in June due to Brittain's so-called Brexit vote and the somewhat unexpected result. I'm quite happy to report that DivGro outperformed the markets in June, gaining 2.04% versus 0.80% for the Dow and only 0.09% for the S&P 500.

A fellow dividend growth investor and blogger, Investment Hunting, is running a blogger interview series in which he asks DGI bloggers a series of about 20 questions. I decided to participate and reveal a little more of my background and what I do for a living. You can read the interview here.

I took some time off in June to attend the premiere of Piper, an animated short film I've been working on for the last year or so as Effects Supervisor. It was great to go to Annecy in France to screen the film at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

My wife and I used the opportunity to travel a little in France and Spain. It was a wonderful trip! We saws so many amazing things, including the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo in the Louvre in Paris, the Black Madonna at Monserrat in Spain, the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres, and the medieval city of Carcassonne. We also visited the Villa Lumière, now a museum celebrating the inventions of Antoine Lumière and his two eldest sons, Auguste and Louis, the inventors of the Cinematograph.

June Highlights

I recorded dividend income totaling $1,338 this month, a new record for monthly dividend income for DivGro! I received dividends from now fewer than 35 stocks! Dividend income in June was 78% higher than last month's total, while the year-over-year increase is 45%.

Here is DivGro's projected monthly dividend income (red line) plotted against monthly dividends:


Comparing dividend income by month is another way to see progress:

Transactions:

• Purchases
• 2016-06-24: Buy 47 shares of NKE @ $52.84
• 2016-06-24: Buy 54 shares of WFC @ $46.51
• 2016-06-24: Buy 35 shares of WMT @ $72.15
• Sales
• None
• Dividends
• 2016-06-01: Cash Dividend Received AFL: $20.50
• 2016-06-01: Cash Dividend Received CMI: $42.90
• 2016-06-01: Cash Dividend Received HP: $48.13
• 2016-06-01: Cash Dividend Received INTC: $26.00
• 2016-06-01: Cash Dividend Received INTC: $31.20
• 2016-06-01: Cash Dividend Received F: $90.00
• 2016-06-01: Cash Dividend Received NPM: $25.20
• 2016-06-01: Cash Dividend Received PFE: $30.00
• 2016-06-06: Cash Dividend Received WMT: $17.00
• 2016-06-07: Cash Dividend Received JNJ: $24.00
• 2016-06-07: Cash Dividend Received JNJ: $19.20
• 2016-06-09: Cash Dividend Received MSFT: $28.80
• 2016-06-10: Cash Dividend Received WBA: $15.84
• 2016-06-10: Cash Dividend Received TGT: $22.40
• 2016-06-10: Cash Dividend Received IBM: $42.00
• 2016-06-10: Cash Dividend Received XOM: $48.75
• 2016-06-10: Cash Dividend Received CVX: $53.50
• 2016-06-13: Cash Dividend Received MMM: $17.76
• 2016-06-15: Cash Dividend Received MAIN: $41.40
• 2016-06-15: Cash Dividend Received O: $19.90
• 2016-06-15: Cash Dividend Received AVA: $25.69
• 2016-06-15: Cash Dividend Received MDP: $27.23
• 2016-06-15: Cash Dividend Received STAG: $27.80
• 2016-06-17: Cash Dividend Received MAIN: $63.25
• 2016-06-17: Cash Dividend Received RS: $16.00
• 2016-06-20: Cash Dividend Received D: $25.20
• 2016-06-20: Cash Dividend Received MCD: $24.03
• 2016-06-21: Cash Dividend Received VLO: $43.20
• 2016-06-22: Cash Dividend Received NOC: $14.40
• 2016-06-22: Cash Dividend Received QCOM: $53.00
• 2016-06-24: Cash Dividend Received NIE: $112.48
• 2016-06-24: Cash Dividend Received LMT: $23.10
• 2016-06-29: Cash Dividend Received GILD: $23.50
• 2016-06-29: Cash Dividend Received TROW: $35.10
• 2016-06-30: Cash Dividend Received EXG: $40.65
• 2016-06-30: Cash Dividend Received UNP: $30.80
• 2016-06-30: Cash Dividend Received TRV: $19.43
• 2016-06-30: Cash Dividend Received ES: $26.70
• Deposits
• 2016-06-01: Option Income Cash Deposit: $315.49
• 2016-06-16: Option Income Cash Deposit: $361.75
• 2016-06-22: Passive Income Cash Deposit: $383.17
• 2016-06-29: JULY Cash Deposit: $1,500.00

Changes in Projected Annual Dividend Income (PADI):

• From Purchases
• The purchase of 35 WMT shares added $70.00.
• The purchase of 54 WFC shares added $82.08.
• The purchase of 47 NKE shares added $18.80.
• From Increases
• HP's dividend increase added $3.50.
• TGT's dividend increase added $6.40.
• O's dividend increase added $0.60.
• WPC's dividend increase added $0.93.
• PADI increased by $514.91 to $11,576.38.

Dividend Summary:

• Dividend income last month: $751.44
• Dividend income this month: $1,338.27
• Total dividend income year-to-date: $9,595.66
• Total dividend income all-time: $22,797.20

Markets:

May 31, 2016	DOW: 17,787.20 S&P 500: 2,096.95 10-YR BOND: 1.83%
Jun 30, 2016	DOW: 17,929.99 S&P 500: 2,098.86 10-YR BOND: 1.49%

In June, the Dow gained 0.80% and the S&P 500 gained 0.09%, while DivGro gained 2.04%.

Portfolio: Here is a snapshot of DivGro's state on 30 June 2016:

Goals Report

I've set some challenging goals for 2016:

1. PADI: Increase projected annual dividend income to $12,000.
2. Dividends: Earn $10,800 in dividend income.
3. Posts: Post 120 articles on my DivGro blog.
4. Seeking: Write 52 premium articles for Seeking Alpha.
5. DivNet: Write 8 articles for The DivNet.

The last gauge is a reference – it indicates where the other gauges should be after 182 out of 366 days. I'm ahead of schedule with all my goals except for #5. 

Looking Ahead: I have enough funds available for 4 buys, so I'll be looking for opportunities to either add to existing positions, or to open new positions. Another thing I'd like to do this month is to evaluate the stocks in DivGro to see which positions are not performing as expected. With the markets trending higher again after the Brexit vote, perhaps a little consolidation would be in order.

Please see my Performance page for various visuals summarizing DivGro's performance.

Thanks for reading and take care, everybody!