For all you Star Wars fans out there….. May the 4th be with you! Yes, May has arrived, so it’s time to tally up April’s dividends.
It was another good month of dividends in my Portfolio. I continue to move at light speed towards my dividend goals. I’m happy to report not only April’s dividend total, but also the boost to my forward dividend income from 1) reinvested dividends, 2) dividend raises, and 3) new investment.
The totals I’m reporting for April are no Jedi mind trick… and these are the dividends I’m looking for! Here we go…
Dividend Income
April’s dividend income totaled $515.90… this extended my streak of $500+ months to five! Compared to April 2017, this was an outstanding 27.49% increase.
A total of 14 companies paid me a dividend this month. The largest amount came from long-time holding RPM International (RPM), delivering $73.64. The smallest amount came from Ensign Group (ENSG), totaling $9.07.
The dividend amounts from Cardinal Health (CAH), Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK), Realty Income (O) and Nike (NKE) mainly increased as a result of additional purchases over the past year.
Increased amounts for the other companies were a result of dividend increases and reinvested dividends over the past year.
There were no decreased dividends this month! It’s been a while since I could say that. I did have partial sale of Air Lease (AL) over the past year, but a strong annual dividend increase and my reinvested dividends overcame the dividend reduction that came from selling some shares.
I had only one new dividend payer for April, and that was Comcast (CMCSA), a company I initiated a position in just last month. It’s always nice to seeing another dividend payer arrive in the Portfolio.
In the “Add’l Fwd Inc” column, I show the amount of additional annual forward dividend income that resulted from reinvesting each of this month’s paid dividends. April saw an addition of $17.57 from this category. This was a small increase from the comparable month of last quarter (i.e. January). The reinvestment of the WPC dividend resulted in over a $4 bump in forward dividend income all by itself, with the reinvested dividend from SCANA (SCG) not too far behind. There was no reinvested dividend for ENSG, as I recently closed that entire position.
Dividend Raises
My dividend raises continue to provide a nice boost to my forward dividend income. In April, I had 4 companies raise their dividend.
For the first time this year, all the dividend increases in the month were from companies expected to announce an increase. I certainly didn’t mind seeing the unexpected raises, so let’s hope those return real soon.
The percentage raise from OZRK looks like the smallest, but since OZRK is offering raises quarterly, this amounts to an annualized rate of over 10%. Not too shabby!
A 4% raise from Procter & Gamble was welcomed considering it beat last year’s percentage.
Finally, I had raises from titans Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), at 6.49% and 7.14%, respectively. The dollar amounts these two raises delivered were quite closely aligned, too.
In all, these raises contributed a total of $58.78 to my annual forward dividend income, which now stands at about $8,356. April’s total was a tad better than last month, and helps to keep me on pace to reach my goal of $8,700 by year’s end.
I’d have to invest $2,077.03 at my portfolio’s average yield of 2.83% in order to equal the same boost to my annual forward dividend income that these dividend raises provide.
Next month I expect to see dividend raises from Cardinal Health (CAH) and Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH). Given CAH’s recent earnings report and subsequent stock price plunge, I won’t have high expectations.
Dividends Due To New Investment
I had one purchase and one sale in April. About mid-month, I sold my entire position in Ensign Group (ENSG), and initiated a position in Nexstar Media Group (NXST). You can read more about this is my Recent Transactions (Stock Swap!) post.
Thankfully, the stock swap netted a forward dividend income increase. The sale of ENSG brought a decrease of $36.29, while the purchase of NXST brought an increase of $150.00, for a net of $113.71 in April.
Summary
The great dividend results continued in April. I stayed above the $500 mark for a 5th consecutive month, with YoY growth of 27.49%.
Of course, my forward dividend income total was again boosted by reinvested dividends, dividend raises, and investment of new capital. I continue to track this trio of income boosters each month this year, in the table below.
It continues to be a tight race between ‘dividend raises’ and ‘investment of new capital’ for the top spot in delivering additional forward dividend income. It’s clear that ‘reinvested dividends’ will bring up the rear by year’s end, but its annual projected total of $250 is welcomed.
April’s results already pushed me over $1K in additional forward dividend income for 2018. Wow! I now only need $344 (or $43/mo.) of new dividend income to reach my goal of $8,700 in annual forward dividend income by year’s end. I’d say I’m looking good to achieve this goal.
April’s dividends have set the table for a terrific quarter.  More great results are just around the corner, I’m sure. I’ll just keep plugging away, and continue collecting. ‘Til next month!
How did April turn out for you with regard to dividends? Any big jumps in dividends collected or forward dividend income? Please share in the comments!
I have updated the Portfolio & Dividends pages in conjunction with this monthly update.
Hey ED,
congrats on over 500$ for an off-month like April and a fantastic yoy increase of 27%! That shows the power of dividend growth investing, no doubt about that.
My dividend income for April was 200$ with a yoy increase of 136%!
I like your purchase of PEP and think of adding to my position as well. I think that the recent stock decline and the dividend increase of 15% presents a good opportunity to grab some shares. – I thought about the situation with OHI too, but decided to be passive and keep my 120 shares and collect the dividends along the way. They face some serious headwinds for sure and if they have to cut the dividend in the next years the price will fall more, but i’m willing to stay and see if they turn the corner in the long run. We’ll see.
Greets
DividendSolutions
Thanks, DS! Looks like you are quickly growing your dividends as well.
I’m happy with the PEP addition, it’s been years since I added some, so it’s nice to add some juice to the increased share count I get from the reinvested dividends.
My OHI share count is now about 120 shares, too, after my sale… down from about 170. I’m more comfortable not having OHI be as large of a dividend contributor as it was for me. Their large yield coupled with the dividend freeze is worrisome.
Momth number 5 with +$500 from dividends. That’s just awesome ED! An 27% increase is also fantastic, especially with the amounts your hauling.
Keep it up my friend!
I’m on a good run, Mr. Robot. I hope to keep it going strong into the summer. A YoY increase of 27% will be difficult to maintain, that’s for sure. Thanks for dropping by and commenting!
Great dividend breakdown and analysis ED – also love all the Star Wars references in your introduction. I only heard the ‘May the 4th be with you’ line for the first time a few days ago, love it!
Looks like it will take nothing short of a Death Star to slow down your dividend growth momentum!
Cheers, Frankie
Thanks, Frankie. I’ve definitely got some momentum on the dividend front, and I hope it continues.
Glad you like the Star Wars intro. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do something. Nice to see you added one of your own!
Great overview and progress – thanks for sharing.
I really like the additional forward dividend income perspective. – Mike
Hey, Mike! I’m always glad to share my dividend totals. The additional focus on the forward dividend income was something I started in 2018, as I love looking at the dividend numbers in different ways…. happy to hear you like it!
Congrats mate! Solid increase. Consistently netting 500$ in dividends is awesome. Quite a few stocks available at discount. Planning to pick up T?
I’m hoping that now that I’ve crossed the $500 mark for a few months in a row that it will be a minimum for any future months… we’ll see.
No plans to pick up T, as I’m currently leaning more towards growth than income for the Portfolio. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, DG.
You are pulling all of the passive dividend income levers ED. New capital, reinvestment of dividends, portfolio swaps and dividend increases. It’s a beautiful thing man. Tom
Agreed! Nice boxes to be checking…things will continue to roll nicely for you.
It is a beautiful thing, Tom. It’s amazing how it all adds up. It will be fun to tally it all up at year’s end and see what was achieved. The totals will also provide a nice base amount for 2019 goals.
ED,
These results are just fantastic. Look how much extra dividend you earned without even having to lift a finger. Those extra shares via drip and the dividend increases alone added a great amount. Your results are truly amazing and I cannot wait to reach the same point as you one of these days. Keep on motivating myself and others in the community.
Cheers,
Bert
Thanks much, Bert! Yeah, those forward dividend additions have been amazing. Throw in the increases resulting from new purchases, and it’s all quite the catalyst for the Portfolio’s dividend growth.
I wouldn’t say you are too far behind me in terms of results, so I’ll have to keep pushing if I want to stay ahead. Thanks for checking in. Let’s get after it!
Nice month. Your position in O is really coming along. It shows with the monthly income. You can DRIP half a share a month to help propel your monthly dividends. Keep making those quality buys.
Hey, Daze. Yeah, O is a fairly sizable position at this point, and getting about 6 shares a year with the dividend reinvestment helps it grow. I added some shares earlier this year when the price dipped below $50. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts on my monthly dividend income! I see you recently issued your monthly report, so I’ll be by soon to check it out in detail.
ED, a 27% increase y/y is awesome! Nice to see the month get above $500 too.
Thank you, TITM. I hope manage staying above the $500 mark on a monthly basis from here on out, but we’ll see how it plays out.
E Divi, Congrats on a great month! I like seeing some stocks on your list that aren’t the “normal DGI stocks” RPM and OZRK to name a few. As long as they are growing and helping you hit your goals I’m all for it!!! Keep up the great work!
Yes, I certainly have a few different holdings, but they add to my Portfolio diversity. RPM is one of my cornerstone stocks that I’ve been holding for 20+ years. The compounded annual growth rate the stock has provided for me has been over 10%. I love that! RPM is not a headline name, although you’d probably recognize a few of their products. Plus, RPM in the Materials sectors, which doesn’t seem to get much attention.
OZRK is a much newer holding, but I like what they’ve delivered thus far. I like the growth prospects for this bank, especially in the near-term given the rising interest rate environment.