Nothing scary about my dividend total for October. Not a big YoY increase, just continued growth. However, I got quite the treat in receiving a large number of dividend increases. Let’s get into the details!
Dividend Income
The total was $452.91… an acceptable 9.28% increase compared to the same month last year.
A baker’s dozen of companies paid me a dividend this month. The largest amount came from RPM, a long-time holding. The least came from ENSG, a position initiated earlier this year.
The amounts from CAH, OZRK, NKE and O were boosted by additional purchases over the past year.
The amount from WPC was a decrease compared to last year, due to a partial sale.
I have 1 new dividend payer (ENSG), but their payout is rather small, so it didn’t play a significant role in my monthly percentage increase. The increase came from additions to existing holdings (as noted above), and reinvested dividends. I reinvest dividends back into the stock that paid them.
My Financial Engines (FNGN) position was closed out over the past year, thus no dividends compared to last year. FNGN wasn’t raising their dividend, so I decided to move on.
Dividend Raises
The excitement for October came in the form of dividend increases. I had 8 companies raise their dividend! OZRK and OHI have been announcing increases on a quarterly basis, so the small % increases for these two are actually quite nice if you annualize them. Of the remaining companies, which announce annually, the largest increase came from V, a hefty 18.18%, while the smallest came from AFL, at 4.65%.
These raises contribute a total of $99.82 to my annual forward dividend income. I was thinking SBUX might announce an increase in October, too, pushing me over the $100 mark, but I think SBUX is planning a November raise… I’ll have to wait.
Amazingly enough, I’d have to invest $3,839 at my portfolio’s average yield of 2.6% in order to equal the same boost to my annual forward dividend income that these dividend raises provide.
Summary
So, not too much to get excited about with regard to dividend income this month, but there certainly was with the dividend increases. Ultimately, progress was made again in October, so I have to be happy about that. I have some cash to invest, so hopefully I can boost my annual forward dividend income, and hit the $7,200 total before year’s end.
On another note, with October’s dividends I surpassed last year’s dividend income total. I have 2 more months to push the 2017 total higher! I estimate that I should reach at least $6,700 for 2017.
I’d love to hear about your progress in October as well. Have you surpassed last year’s dividend total yet? Any goals you’d like to accomplish before year’s end?
I have updated the Portfolio & Dividends pages in conjunction with this monthly update.
What an overall solid report ED. And you solved one of my mysteries, which I will explain in a bit. But, you got nearly double digit increase from last year and have already surpassed last year’s totally. Congrats. I too am looking forward to seeing if SBUX raises their dividends in November because I also own the stock.
So, one day I logged on to my portfolio and noticed that my forward annual dividends had raised, even though I didn’t record any new purchases of shares of the stocks I already owned. The only way that could have happened was if one of the stocks I owned raised its dividend. I now just realized that it was ABBV, which I also own. My portfolio updates automatically (although now, it’s temporarily entered manual due to yahoo API issues), and so it wasn’t readily apparent which company raised its dividend. So, thanks for solving that mystery for me.
Looking forward to next month’s report.
Hi DP, Glad I could help… even though it was unknowingly. You’ve got to like those unexpected surprises that work out in your favor.
Fantastic results and nice yoy growth. Eyopener for me is your calculations on how much you need to invest vs your dividend increases!
Thanks, Mr. Robot. Yes, astonishing to see that investment dollar amount needed to match what I got from the dividend raises. The raises look much more impressive when looked at in this manner.
Nice work! Lots of dividend raises to help propel you forward in growth. Congrats on surpassing last years dividends as well. Hope to see you putting up big numbers in the coming months!
Hi DD, I hope to see some big numbers coming soon, too. I may have a few more big YoY growth months in me, but I see things slowing down a bit… we’ll see what I can do to boost the dividends.
It’s great to see that your dividend income is constantly growing. With such a solid amount already, almost 10% increase is amazing!
I only received a fraction of what you received. The total amount is around what you received from your smallest payer this month – ENSG 😀
Great job!
-BI
Thanks, BI. Not to worry… the dividends always start small, but grow from there. You’ll be amazed at how fast the growth can be with persistent new investments and reinvested dividends.
Hey ED,
Love the position in RPM, it’s a fantastic company! I finally bought in a couple of months ago, so I’m happy to see that they raised their dividend. It wasn’t as much as I’d hoped, but 7% isn’t bad at all!
-CD
Hey CD, 20+ years since I established my initial position in RPM, so I’m with you. I’ll be happy if they can continue to deliver those nearly 7% raises. If you haven’t already seen it, check out my Performance Check post where I examined my return for RPM over the years – Performance Check – RPM
Acceptable? 9% is a great increased there ED. Anytime you can post a near double-digit growth rate you can say the month was a success. By the way. HOLY DIVIDEND INCREASE. I love that you received an increased dividend from 8 companies this month and added nearly $99 to your forward dividend total. Amazing stuff and keep up the inspiring results.
Bert
OK, so maybe ‘acceptable’ was the wrong word… it’s just that it’s my lowest percentage increase this year. However, I’m very excited about those dividend increases! It’s quite the boost to future income.
Looks like a solid performance for the month of October. Always like seeing ITW in another portfolio. It’s such an underrated company/stock. Keep pushing forward. Any month you can put up year over year growth is a good month.
Hey DivHut, I’ll certainly keeping pushing forward. I’m looking for steady progress over time. Companies like ITW look like core holdings to me. I had to wait a while before I found my entry price, but I’ve certainly been happy with their performance since my purchase. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Solid performance well done. Hope you have a great November.
Thanks, Matthew. I hope you have a terrific month, too. Let’s see if we can finish the year in strong fashion when it comes to our dividends.
Wow! Nearly 10% increase is very nice to see. Congrats!
I like to own WPC, ITW, NKE, O and MAIN of your holdings. Hopefully, someday I will! Except of CAH, I’m not aware of the other companies and have to check them out. It’s always nice to see new companies and inspirations for my watchlist.
Cheers
-DivRider
I like to use other portfolios to find companies for research, too. Looks like you’ve got your eyes on some REITs. Here’s hoping that you find one that works for you. Thanks for checking in and commenting, DivRider.
Solid month! You have a lot of companies paying you this month, which is good in case one of them (like GE for me) decides to cut its dividend. Thanks for the update on Visa too. I wasn’t aware that they had increased their dividend. They have been one of my better performers over the years.
Scott
Hi Scott, I’m happy to have avoided any dividend cuts thus far. With my diversification, if a dividend cut does come along, it hopefully won’t have a big impact. Sounds like hearing about the Visa dividend raise was a nice surprise… you have to like those! Thanks for stopping in and commenting.
9% y/y at this level is pretty awesome – I quite like it. I also like all the raises you’ve gotten this month from other companies to keep that snowball rolling.
Yes, 9% is pretty awesome (after the post, I realized I sounded underwhelmed – a result of it being the lowest increase of the year).
October was outstanding for dividend increases for me, for sure. I’m looking good this month, too, in that regard. Hope to report on it next week.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting, TITM!
Amazing that you got the equivalent of a $3,000+, 2.6% investment just by owning natural dividend growers. That is one of my favorite metrics. We do have similar picks and investment styles. Coincidence that we are both engineers? Keep up the great updates!
Hi Dozer,
Yes, the equivalent investment from those raises in October were awesome… such a great boost to the the forward dividend income. If only I could get that every month! I agree, we have quite similar portfolios – maybe you are on to something with regard to the ‘engineers’ comment? Glad you like the updates. Thanks for dropping in and sharing your thoughts!