August 2019 Dividend Income: "David, No!" "David, YEEESSSS!!!"

Some in my family have raised concerns and objections about these dividend posts.  It may seem odd that this comes up more than a year after I started, but I think the impetus was the unclaimed property, where the numbers featured were a bit larger (though in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that big).  The fear largely centers around hacking/identity theft.  The thought is that these posts will draw the wrong kind of attention. I get it. I do want to go on record and say that the objections were duly noted and I did take the "stop doing them" suggestion under advisement.  As you can see, though, I have decided to push forward. 

So, yeah, onward and upward as they say.

Alright, with all that out of the way, let's get to the good stuff; the material you really came here for: the dividend income for August.  As has been mentioned before, the mid-quarters are my big payer.  There's a lot to cover, so let's dive in.

AT&T (T): $1.05  Up a penny from last quarter due to reinvestment
AGNC: $0.16       Same as last month
Sprague Resources (SRLP):  $3.71    Up $0.13 from reinvestment
Hormel (HRL): $0.43   Up a penny from reinvestment
Kinder Morgan (KMI): $0.75
Omega Healthcare (OHI): $2.09   Up $0.04 from reinvestment
Realty Income (O): $0.70   Same as last month
Senior Housing (SNH): $0.15  Same as last quarter
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT): $1.07
Westrock (WRK): $0.91
Paychex (PAYX): $1.27 Up a penny from reinvestment
Arconic (ARNC): $0.02   Same as last quarter
Barnes and Noble (BKS) $3.08  Up $0.09 from last quarter due to reinvestment.
Publix paid $1.27 in dividends.  The non-401K portion remained $0.30, while the 401K shares threw in $0.97 in dividends.  The latter number is up $0.25 from last quarter.  This is due to reinvested dividends as well as some of my contributions going to more shares in the company.

The 401K also added another $0.44 in dividends (up $0.08) courtesy of one of the other funds.

That brings the non 401K dividend total to $15.69.  If we include the 401K, the total jumps to $17.10.  It's another record and just shy of the $20 threshold.  I'm pretty confident I'll have that beat by November.

Bank interest threw in $3.46 of passive income, which is up $0.74 from last month.

Sadly, this is going to be the last time you see Barnes and Noble featured on this list.  They were bought out by some hedge fund and became privately owned.  I, myself, voted against this arrangement, as Barnes and Noble was the passion project of the portfolio.  You could say that this was the company I was most invested in.  Sadly, the other shareholders didn't think the same way.  It's odd too, as by the time the form went out for us to cast our vote, the stock was worth more than what the hedge fund was offering.  I was certain that no one was going to take that deal, but here we are.  You did a dumb, shareholders.   You did a dumb.

I have no idea how to go about getting the company back into the public market, but I hope it happens.  This not being a Barnes and Noble shareholder thing isn't working for me.  I need my stake in the company back. Seeing as the deal just went through, I think it's safe to say it's going to be a while so I guess I'm just going to have to get used to it....for now.

In addition to a plethora of dividends that got reinvested.  This was a pretty active month on the stock buying front, with 4 purchases under the belt.

The first was a share of Pepsi (PEP).  A bit pricier than what I'm used to, but a great brand.  Now, when I use the vending machine at work, I can not only quench my thirst, but fund my own future.  See, tactics.

The second was 5 shares of Sprague Resources (SRLP).  I haven't really gone back to this company.  The thing that drew me to it in the first place (low cost, big dividend) suddenly became the reason I decided to keep my distance. However, with the loss of Barnes and Noble, I had to make up that loss in forward income.  With the money I got from the hedge fund, this was the only company that could allow me to do that.  On the plus side, it not only succeeded in that goal, but also boosted the number higher than it was before.

The third purchase was 3 shares of Franklin Resources (BEN).  I picked these up after that 800 point drop in the market.  An affordable dividend aristocrat and a company that I knew DIDN'T pay in the mid-quarter month.  I figured it was worth nabbing a few more shares.

The fourth and final purchase was 4 shares of Bed, Bath, and Beyond (BBBY).  Like the prior, this was a post-dip purchase, though it did happen at a later date.  This also doubled as a "work annoyed me" purchase, so hooray for multi-tasking.

All in all, this was a good month, Barnes and Noble loss notwithstanding.  A lot of forward progress with some interesting curve balls thrown in. 2019 is going into its third trimester.  It should be interesting to see where things go as we move closer to year's end.

                                                                                                    

"stock dividend" by CreditDebitPro is licensed under CC BY 2.0 

Click here to become a Swagbucks member

May 2019 Dividend Income: Revenge! The Time is Now!!!

And just like that, May is down for the count.  Time really does fly.  In any event, it's time to log the dividends, like ya do.  Let's get to it.

Sprague Resources (SRLP): $3.58 - Up $0.13 from last quarter as a result of dividend reinvestment.  Better yet, the price seems to have stabilized.  I had this nagging feeling that this would be the next dividend cut, but they have a few years of increases behind them, and it's remained steady; so, here's hoping.

Omega Healthcare (OHI): $2.05 - Up $0.03 also from dividend reinvestment.

Paychex (PAYX): $1.26 - Up $0.13 from both reinvestment and a dividend increase.  That's right, an increase, not a cut.  The number went up, not down.

Hormel (HRL): $0.42 - Same as before.

Realty Income (O): $0.69 - Same as last month.   I may have to add some shares to this one and give it a boost in the near future.

AT&T (T): $1.04 - Up $0.02 from reinvested dividends

Senior Housing (SNH): $0.15, down big from the last round, due to both the previously mentioned dividend cut and subsequent share sales.

AGNC: $0.18 - A relative newcomer, I know that this number is going to be dropping a bit, but it won't be that devastating all things considered.

Arconic (ARNC): $0.02 - The yield and payout ratio on this one are quite low.  I think it has potential. However, at this point, the yield is actually too low.  As such, I can't really justify pumping more money into this just yet.  On the plus side, this should be a safe one for the time being.

Barnes and Noble (BKS): $2.99 - Up another $0.07 compared to their last payout due to dividend reinvestment.

Publix: I received $1.02 from Publix this month.  Interestingly, only $0.30 came in to my regular checking account, while the other $0.72 came courtesy of the 401K.  I was unsure of how to go about presenting that, but this straight forward approach worked pretty well.  I actually surprised myself with that one.

Speaking of the 401K, it also threw in another $0.37 in dividend revenue courtesy of one of the other funds.

That brings the non 401K dividend total to $12.68.  With the 401K numbers thrown in, we get a grand total of $13.77.

Is that an all time record? I think that's an all time record.  Go me.

Interest payments clocked in at $2.72.  It's a decent increase compared to last month's, but it was no match for the dividends this go around.

With the first few months of the year dedicated to saving up for the car down payment and April being a rebuilding month, I haven't really been able to build the portfolio as much as I would have liked.  I hadn't even been able to make my trademark "work annoyed me" purchases (you'd be surprised what a necessary cathartic agent that becomes.)  On top of that, I got hit with an inordinate amount of dividend cuts.  You could have made a drinking game out of it. It was bordering on parody. Suffice it to say, I was nettled...super nettled.

As such, I decided to come out swinging this month.  I didn't actually add any new positions.  Instead, I reinforced already existing ones.  I bought 3 shares of Flowers Foods (FLO), 3 shares of Kroger (KR), 4 shares of Wendy's (WEN), and 2 shares of Iron Mountain (IRM).  I wanted to add another share or two of Publix, but I didn't get around to it, maybe later this year.

That looks like a lot, but as far as capital deployed, it really wasn't all that much, especially compared to say that or that.  I'll get there one day.  In any event, the purchases did give my forward income a much needed boost, so it did accomplish its goal.  It should also get the snowball rolling faster than if I had just added another batch of small positions to the roster.

All in all, I'm very happy with this month's results.  Broke a record, there were no cuts, juiced up the portfolio a good bit; not too shabby all things considered.  Hopefully, there's more months like this.  I don't have a punny way to close out this post like I did last time so.....

"stock dividend" by CreditDebitPro is licensed under CC BY 2.0 

Click here to become a Swagbucks member

January 2019 Dividend Income: Triple D's

Double digit dividends, baby!  OK, it's not the most illustrious milestone, but I think it's something.  From what I've read, hitting markers like this is what keeps you motivated; so let's just go with it.  On a completely random note, how is January done already?  It honestly seems like the year just started and we're already a month in, craziness.  Enough rambling, on with the numbers.

Best Buy (BBY) dropped $6.30 on me this month.  It's weird.  The company didn't split and I didn't buy any new shares.  I just got two checks.  Was it a holiday thing?  Maybe they want to take a cue from Realty and up the dividend frequency, who knows?  Either way, I'll take it.

Armanino Foods (AMNF) paid $0.25, which is up from last quarter.  This was due to purchasing more shares not too long ago.

Realty Income (O) paid $0.67.  That's up a whole penny from last month.  Both DRIP and a dividend increase played a part in this.  Given my small position at this point, the overall effect isn't much, but it's better than nothing.

Barnes and Noble (BKS) paid $2.92, up $0.07.  That increase is due entirely to dividend reinvestment.  The low price and the (relatively) large position in my portfolio make this one of the faster growers.  As this is the company with the most personal stake for me, I'm OK with that; though I am working on balancing things out as far as position weight goes.

All in all, the portfolio brought in $10.14 in income.  Granted, it's a total fluke due to the Best Buy anomaly, but Jimmy wants to crack corn; I don't care.

As per usual, the 401K did kick in a little something, something.  Sadly, it's nowhere near as impressive as last month.  $0.16 in dividends came in through this, bringing the grand total to an even $10.30.

Bank interest delivered $2.01.  That's sort of a milestone in its own right.  It's up $0.40 from last month, so the trajectory is still looking pretty good.

I made two additions to the portfolio this month.  The first was 2 shares of AT&T (T).

The second was 2 shares of Franklin Resources (BEN....get it?)  Both are dividend aristocrats and both were fairly easy on the wallet.  They'll make good additions I think.

The latter purchase was actually scheduled for February, but I made it a couple of days early, because why not?  Does this mean that February will go without a stock purchase?  On the one hand, I'd say it's unlikely, but it would give the cash a chance to accumulate a little.  We'll have to see.

DRIP is enabled on AT&T, but I have to wait a couple of more days before I can do the same with Franklin.

There actually was another portfolio related move done in the past 4 weeks, but as it's more pertinent to next month's post, I'll save it.  I'd cite this as some kind of sequel hook, but if you follow me on Twitter, you already know what it is.

All in all, not a bad start to the new year.  There's still a lot of work to do, though.  Normally, I'd say 11 months is plenty of time, but the way January went, it might not be as much time as we think.  In any event, onward and upward...tally ho and all that.

"stock dividend" by CreditDebitPro is licensed under CC BY 2.0 

Click here to become a Swagbucks member

October 2018 Dividend Income: To DRIP or Not to DRIP

I have a list of future blog titles for this particular series.  They aren't set up for specific months, rather for buying certain companies or hitting certain milestones.  The title for this very post was included among them.  Come to find out that it's already taken.  I suppose it's a common enough concept for a title, but it's still vexing.

In any event, as noted in last month's report, there wasn't any apparent QoQ growth.  The same three companies that paid me then paid me the same amount now.

Best Buy: $3.15
Armanino: $0.14
Barnes and Noble: $2.85

For a total of $6.14.

I said before that there was no apparent growth.  Thankfully, my 401K paid me $.07 this month, bringing the total up to $6.21.  It isn't huge growth, but I'll take it, regardless.

As far as interest income goes, this month brought in $1.10.  A lot of that is due to the IRA CD.  It's a shame I can't pump more money into that account, but that's the downside of a CD.  On top of that, the bank site shows you what the final balance is going to be at the end of the term.  It kind of takes the fun out of it, but oh well.

On other fronts, this month's stock purchase added 2 shares of Hormel to the portfolio.  You know them, they make chili, as well as a few other things.

We should probably talk about the DRIP thing, right?  It is in the title.  DRIP is the shorthand term used to describe having your dividend payments automatically reinvest into the company from which the dividend came.

So, I've been going back and forth on this.  A lot of investors swear by its power, citing it as the third leg in the dividend investing tripod (along with new capital and dividend increases).

Despite this, I was skeptical.  It seemed counter-intuitive.  Honestly, DRIP seems like it makes more sense if you're investing for market value.  You're getting "free" shares that you can sell when the stock hits a decent price.

If the goal is to build up income, turning the income down doesn't seem like it helps.  Yeah you get more shares, but you're not seeing the income anyway so there's no change there.

My original plan was to sort of split the difference and DRIP a company stock at every tenth purchase.  I pulled an audible, though and just decided to DRIP every company that I could (basically everything but Armanino and Best Buy.)

Why the change?  Well, for one thing, the dividends aren't that substantial at this point.  It's not like I'm drawing money from the account to pay bills.  On the contrary, I'm aiming to pump more money in.  In the meantime, I figure I might as well put that money to use and add fuel to the FIRE, as it were.

On top of that, as I noted before, trade commission fees are a killer and this bypasses that.  It, along with fractional shares, is one of the major selling points of the system.

I'm also behind schedule on this front, so hopefully, having those dividends go into growing my portfolio will help move things along so that I can get back up to speed.

With online trading, turning the DRIP on and off is quite easy, so should the time come when I do need that income, I can adjust it accordingly with little hassle.

In the meantime, though, I did get about a half a share of Barnes and Noble added as a result, so my forward income did get a boost...sort of, but I'll get to that in next month's post.

"stock dividend" by CreditDebitPro is licensed under CC BY 2.0 

















Click here to become a Swagbucks member

July 2018 Dividend Income: Freddy Kroger

This month was a much more impressive showing.  I pulled in $6.14 from dividends.  This is largely due to the fact that I had more companies paying me this month.

Best Buy carried the lion's share of the weight, delivering $3.15 of the dividend income.  This is one of the few stocks that I had prior to launching this investing endeavor.  I bought the few shares I had back in high school and just held onto it.  I remember when I first started, the checks were like 96 cents, which was more amusing than anything else.  It's not exactly big money now, but dividend increases (and a split if I recall correctly) over the years have helped make it a more worthwhile hold.

Barnes and Noble (BKS) acted as a strong secondary, bringing in $2.85.  As noted in last month's entry, this was the company that really got the ball rolling.  The price is low, it pays a solid dividend, I love shopping/browsing there, and we need book stores.  We already lost Borders, so this has a nice balance in terms of reasons for me to invest.

Pulling up the rear is Armanino Foods (AMNF) with.....$0.14.  Yeah, this one isn't a big payer, but they make Italian food, which I like.  I learned of it from the Dividend Diplomats, one of whom also bought into the company.  The dividend isn't great, but the stock price is easy on the wallet and the company does have a personal connection to me as well.  Apparently, they also have decent numbers for a small company.  I'm not well versed in that aspect of investing, but I deferred to the Diplomats on that front.     

As far as interest income goes, I pulled in $0.58 cents.  It's not a bad jump from last month, at least I don't think so, but dividends do seem to be delivering the better return.  Still, I do intend to keep pumping more capital into those accounts at every opportunity to get that number higher.  No reason not to, really.

On a somewhat related note, I closed out July/kicked off August with a stock purchase.  As the title of the post would suggest, the purchase was Kroger (Kr).  I actually used to work for Dillon's, which fell under Kroger's umbrella.  It's a solid brand, as evidenced by the fact that the name has popped up on other DGI investor portfolios, and the purchase did add about $2.00 to my forward income (the amount in dividends an investor is projected to make over the next 12 months).  It's not a big increase, but the steps don't have to be large, they just have to be in the right direction, right?

That about wraps things up for this month.  I'm pleased with the results and I'm definitely looking forward to pushing ahead.  With the return of the snowbirds looming, I'm planning on sparking some significant growth in the months to come.  It should be fun.

"stock dividend" by CreditDebitPro is licensed under CC BY 2.0 















Click here to become a Swagbucks member