It’s July 1st and Independence Day is around the corner. Fireworks will soon light up the sky.
However, I’ve already seen some fireworks recently… in my Portfolio!
I’m excited to bring you this month’s dividend income report, as June has been a record-setting month for dividends.
Let’s get to it!
Dividend Income
June’s dividend income totaled $1,032.69… say hello to a 4-digit month! It’s my first one ever, and hopefully the first of many more to come.
Compared to the $814.15 from June 2017, this was a terrific 26.84% increase. I don’t want to overlook how awesome a Year-over-Year (YoY) growth number like that is given the size of the dividend numbers here. I couldn’t be much happier with these June results.
In addition, this month’s dividend total extended my streak of $500+ months to seven! Keeping this streak alive next month may be a challenge as my projected dividend income is precariously close to $500. Always more work to do!
A total of 18 companies paid me a dividend this month. The largest amount came from Qualcomm (QCOM), delivering $118.58 – a very nice chunk. The lowest amount came from Visa (V), at $17.07. I’d like to boost this V payment, but V is looking pricey these days, so an addition will have to wait.
The dividend amounts from QCOM, Pepsico (PEP), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Target (TGT) and Realty Income (O) mainly increased as a result of additional purchases over the past year. It appears I’ve been busy snapping up some shares this past year. 🙂
Increased amounts for the other companies were a result of dividend increases and reinvested dividends over the past year.
The lower dividend amount from VF Corp (VFC) was due to a partial sale nearly a year ago.
Just one new dividend payer arrived this June compared to last, and that was HanesBrands (HBI). The amount from HBI was fairly substantial thanks to a couple of purchases over the past year. It’s hard not to like another dividend source!
In contrast, this June also saw one dividend source go away, and that was W.W. Grainger (GWW), as I liquidated the position last October in favor of Fastenal (FAST).
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. June saw an addition of $33.35 from this category. This was an increase from the comparable month last quarter (i.e. March), and my biggest monthly total so far in 2018. Reinvesting my QCOM dividend generates almost $5 of additional forward dividend income all by itself. Impressive!
Dividend Raises
Unlike May, June brought multiple dividend raises, including one on the first day of the month, eliminating any chance of being shutout.
In total, I had 5 Portfolio companies raise their dividend, two large and three small, with one of the large ones being completely unexpected.
Lowe’s (LOW) kicked off the month with a raise just north of 17%. That’s what I like to see from any new addition to my Portfolio.
That was followed by a 3.23% raise from TGT. I was hoping for more, but I won’t turn up my nose to a dividend raise.
The raise from W.P. Carey (WPC) translates to roughly 2% on an annual basis given that WPC is currently raising their dividend a consistent half penny on a quarterly basis. Again, not too exciting, but a raise nonetheless.
Starbucks (SBUX) offered an earnings guidance update that disappointed investors, but with that update came news of more shareholder returns in the future, starting with a 20% dividend raise right now. It’s too bad this raise couldn’t have come with positive earnings guidance.
Finally, Realty Income (O) delivered less than a quarter of a percent raise, but this is usually one of several that O delivers throughout the calendar year. The annual dividend growth rates have been above 5% each of the past two years, so no complaints here.
These raises contributed $50.49 to my annual forward dividend income, which now stands at about $8,457. It was nice to once again eclipse the $50 mark for the month, especially after May’s $ increase was less than $6.
I’d have to invest $1,863.10 at my portfolio’s average yield of 2.71% in order to equal the same boost to my annual forward dividend income that these dividend raises provided.
Next month I expect to see dividend raises from Hershey Co. (HSY) and Skyworks Solutions (SWKS). Of course, unexpected dividend raises will always be welcome, too!
Dividends Due To New Investment
For the 2nd consecutive month, I had one sale and two purchases. Quite the coincidence!
Early in June I sold my entire position in utility SCANA Corp. (SCG). You can read all about this is my Recent Sell – SCG post.
One week later I started to deploy the sale proceeds in an attempt to replace the dividend income that was lost when I sold SCG. The first purchase initiated a position in tobacco company Altria Group (MO). My Recent Buy – MO post has my thoughts regarding this transaction.
I then followed up that purchase with another just a few days ago, adding to my shares of drug distributor Cardinal Health (CAH). Details on this purchase can be found in my Recent Buy – CAH (#2) post.
The result of all these transactions was a small reduction in my forward dividend income. Well, that stinks! The sale of SCG brought a significant decrease of $219.30, while the purchase of the MO shares brought an increase of $140, and adding more shares of CAH brought an increase of $57.16, for a net of –$22.14 for June. This is my first monthly net loss in this category this year.
Summary
The big news for June was recording over $1K in dividend income for a month for the first time ever! I’ve been building towards this for 3 years and so it’s nice to cross that mark.
I got solid contributions from nearly 18 different companies. The YoY growth continues to be strong as well. In addition, I stayed above the $500 mark for dividend income for a 7th consecutive month.
June saw dividend raises coming back to being a significant contributor to my forward dividend income, and my reinvested dividends set a new high mark in June.
Perhaps the only negative for the month was the reduction of forward dividend income due to the sale of one of my Portfolio positions.
On aggregate though, my forward dividend income total in June was again boosted by the combination of 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.
I don’t foresee a bunch of new capital investment for the remainder of the year, so I’m starting to believe that the ‘Dividend Raises’ total might outpace the combined totals of ‘Reinvested Dividends’ and ‘Investment of Capital’. Considering that I might invest over $17K of new capital this year, and reinvest over $8K of dividends, the fact that Dividend Raises might generate more forward dividend income for me than those two sources is impressive.
June’s results left me needing $243 (or $40.50/mo.) of new forward dividend income to reach my goal of $8,700 by year’s end. This is a slight decrease in the needed monthly amount compared to last month, so I’m still on track to achieve my annual goal.
It was a good June, and a good 1st half of 2018, and I’m excited to end them both with some dividend fireworks! See you next time… enjoy the upcoming holiday.
Tell me you had some dividend fireworks in June, too! I’d love to hear about them. Please share in the comments!
I have updated the Portfolio & Dividends pages in conjunction with this monthly update.
Hi ED. Every time I look at your portfolio, I am reminded of our similar positions and holdings. Which means of course that I consider you a wise investor. 🤣🤣.
Congrats on your yearly increase, and congrats on breaking the $1k barrier! I really like QCOM and V, but values are high right now. Those are two stocks that underscore the difference in our portfolios – I’ve put more eggs in the utility and telecom baskets to increase my yield, while you are more focused on dividend growth. With future capital investments (and hopefully lower valuations), I will try to add some more dividend growth to my portfolio.
Excellent post. As usual your metrics and charts are top notch.
Our portfolios are growing, so we must to doing something right, FIREman!
Thanks for the congratulations. It is certainly nice to reach $1K for a month… now onto to a new milestone… maybe $12K in forward dividend income, or an average of $1K/mo. I would hazard to guess that achievement is probably 2-3 years away.
Funny you should mention utilities and telecom, because I currently don’t have a stock in either of these sectors. However, I could see adding a utility again.
I enjoy putting out the metrics and charts. I love all the numbers. So many ways to tell the investment story.
Thanks for commenting!
Hi ED – nice recap.
Similar to FIREman’s comments above, it’s nice to see the progress – and congrats on the $1k. – Mike
Thanks, Mike! Yes, the progress over the years has been great. In the beginning, additional investment provides the portfolio growth, but eventually the internal growth overtakes the impact of the investments. I feel like I’m getting to that tipping point, and it’s a terrific feeling.
Thanks for commenting, Mike! I appreciate how often you stop by and share your thoughts. Take care.
Holy shit! That’s fantastic! It feels like I am light years away from that 4figure mark, but what is more impressive to me than the actual number is that grown YoY.
What did you decide to sell GWW? Did you time it right?
Hey Evan. Yeah, I had some terrific totals/results this month. The dividend totals have been building the past few years at a good clip. Most of that growth has been fueled by my contributions, but it appears that the internal dividend growth may soon overtake the impact of my slowing contributions. It’s nice to think that even if I don’t invest any new capital, that the re-invested dividends and dividend raises can keep my Portfolio growing.
As for GWW, at this point I would say ‘no’ regarding timing my sale correctly. Looking back, I sold too early…. at $200 if I recall, and when I looked last week, GWW was still trading over $300. FAST has not fared nearly as well, but I would like to let more time pass, and compare in the future, before I concede defeat. 🙂
Keep churning out some good YoY growth and that 4-digit total will be yours soon enough! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Awesome results, Engineering Dividends! Great yoy increase considering how much you’re earning, and congratulations on the record-setting 4 digit month! That’s also pretty cool that about $500 for 7 consecutive months. The SBUX dividend raise is nice. I think the stock price is probably an opportunity in the long run. Regarding your point about how your dividend raises might actually generate more forward dividend income – that’s seriously impressive! The importance of dividend growth is really is something to take note of for someone with a smaller portfolio like myself. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, RTC! Diligence and patience culminated in my breaking through the $1K threshold. Having the YoY growth I did this month had me feeling good, too.
I was happy to keep the $500 streak alive, but the streak could be in jeopardy in July if anything negative rears its head next month.
Sad to see the downturn in SBUX, but the dividend raise is certainly welcome. A 20% raise is awesome, and it sounds like there could be more to come in the next few years. I’m certainly intrigued by the stock trading below $50, and will look to add some more if/when I can.
As for the dividend raises, They’ve been terrific this year, and the forward dividend income they are generating for me is superb. Until I need to live off the dividend income, I’ll plan to lean more towards earnings growth and dividend growth for my Portfolio holdings over yield. Of course, I have a few higher-yielding, lower-growth stocks for diversification, but I favor the growth stocks.
Sounds like a solid month ED. Congrats on reaching that $1k milestone and for the double-digit increase from last year. You’re right in that the growth is impressive given the size of the dividends you’re talking about. Looking forward to seeing how July treats you.
Happy 4th of July!
It was nice to eclipse that $1K mark, for sure. I’ll have to keep working at it, eventually replacing my $500+ streak with a $1K streak! It’s a ways off, but it’s something I will strive for.
Thanks for the congratulations, DP!
Congratulations on your first 4 digit month. Very exciting. Nice growth as well.
DS
Thanks DS! I’ll try to keep the snowball rolling downhill. More milestones to reach… just need to keep finding the right dividend-paying companies, invest, and then let time work its magic.
Congrats on on four-digit month! That is an awesome milestone! Can’t wait for mine. Nice YOY increase as well. Amazing how big the snowball can get in just on years time. Keep up the great work! 🙂
You are on knocking on the $1K door, MDD. It won’t be long now.
It is amazing to see how the portfolio can grow over time. I’ll keep up my efforts and hope for another milestone soon.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting, MDD.
V is one of the most passed-over dividend growth stocks in my opinion. The yield is tiny, but of course that makes sense with such a steadily-rising share price. It’s one of those that always seems to be at a premium. I picked up another share in my own portfolio yesterday. I still love your “Trio of Income Boosters” table. Would you mind if I began posting the same general table for my own portfolio?
Hey Dozer. I really like the prospects for V and plan to have the stock in my Portfolio for years to come. I can easily handle the lower yield if they keep delivering the growth. Once the earnings growth slows, I’d suspect the dividend growth might accelerate. Hopefully by then, I will have had the opportunity to add more shares.
Regarding the trio of income boosters, yes, please feel free to post the same thing or similar. I’d love to see the same information with other portfolios.
Hello 4 digit month 🙂 Congrats on that milestone. I’m still waiting on my four digit month form regular dividends only. Your portfolio is really kicking butt with that solid year over year gain too! Sad to see GWW leave your portfolio. I remember when it was left for dead as everyone feared AMZN. For now, I still am holding on to my shares. Thanks for sharing!
Hey DivHut. Yes, it was nice to see a 4-digit month make its first appearance… here’s hoping it becomes a frequent visitor to my Portfolio. You appear to be right on the verge of the that milestone as well, so hopefully we’ll soon be celebrating that.
As for GWW, it’s been departed from my Portfolio for almost 9 months now. I bought it when it got to some truly depressed levels. I was hoping to see some price recovery and turn a profit, which I did, albeit a fairly small one. In hindsight, holding on longer would have led to much more profit. I never viewed GWW as a long-term holding given that I already owned FAST, but once GWW was in my Portfolio, I decided to perform a comparison of GWW and FAST and ultimately chose to consolidate with FAST.
Good job. Big increase big dividend good companies paying you. Visa is a cash cow just right now all the cash is going into building up the stock price. And it’s recession proof. People still use those cards no matter what. Keep it up
Thank you, Doug! It was an awesome month for dividend income and I was excited to report on it.
V is a winner… it’s one of those stocks I wish I bought more of when I initiated a position. I don’t mind the low yield given the nice earnings growth and subsequent price appreciation. I foresee it being a core portfolio holding for me.
ED! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. Congrats on the record and crossing $1,000 for the first time. Now that is what I’m freaking talking about. I love the purchase and the raises because guess what, that’s just going to help push your income levels higher and higher. I’m pumped for you and love the progress you continue to make. It is truly inspiring to me and all of your other followers.
Bert
Thanks so much, Bert. You provide a healthy dose of motivation for me… always bringing the positive energy!
It will be a while before I can cross $1K on a regular basis, but reaching that level for the first time is always required, and now that’s done.
My Portfolio has grown to the point where I can start to see the internal growth from reinvested dividends and dividend raises being the major force behind future growth… so exciting to see.
Finally, $1k! That must be such an awesome feeling! Congratulations my friend on this milestone. But let’s not forget you impressive yoy growth. You said it yourself. With numbers like these its impressive to keep it high like this.
You are crushing it 🙂
It is an awesome feeling, Mr. Robot… I highly recommend it for everyone. 🙂
The YoY growth leading into this milestone was large, so I don’t know how much longer I can keep it going, but I’ll try!
Thanks for stopping by, and of course for the congratulations.
Wow over 26% YoY growth and hitting the magical 4 digit mark. Congrats man, that’s an awesome month!
Thanks, Tawcan. Eclipsing $1K for the month with such large YoY growth was quite an achievement for me. I felt like I just smashed through that $1K level, as opposed to just reaching it.
EDD, That 1k mark is a beautiful number to reach. I don’t think I will hit it until 2019. I can’t wait to see 1k now on your lowest month =P. Keep up the great work!
I agree, MH. So beautiful! Gotta love the 4-digit month.
2019 doesn’t sound like such a long time to wait for you. Go get it! I’ll be cheering you on.
Thanks for your comment.
Love seeing that type of growth with your established portfolio, and crossing the $1k mark is fantastic! Congrats all around for the hard work.
I like the way you break down that additional dividend income between reinvested dividends, raises and new capital. That is a great perspective and shows the amazing power of putting our dollars to work for us. I’ll have to look at my spreadsheets to try and incorporate something like that.
I appreciate the congratulations, DivvyDad. It was very exciting to reach $1K for the first time. I’m hoping that reaching that threshold is a regular occurrence in the coming years.
I just started the breakdown of the “trio of dividend income boosters” this year. I find it revealing as well. I’ve been somewhat surprised by the amount of my new dividend income coming from dividend raises. It gives me reason to believe that my Portfolio can grow significantly in the future without my capital infusions.
Yep, and that is the power of building these divvy snowballs for sure! How do you keep track of your dividend raises? I’ve been utilizing SeekingAlpha to keep on top of them thus far, but always curious to hear how others do it as well.
I use Seeking Alpha as well, but I also get notifications within Quicken (which I use for managing my personal finances and investment accounts).
Quicken aggregates the latest company news and puts a highlight next to the stock ticker when there are news updates.
Between the two sources I usually catch all the raise announcements.
Thanks, appreciate the feedback!
Wow congrats on an awesome month 4 figures super impressive. Love the post keep up the good work. Can’t wait to read your July post.
Thanks, Matt. I’m happy to hear you like the post.
It was awesome to crack the $1K mark for a month. Hopefully, there are plenty more months like this in the future. Maybe a few years down the road I’ll have over $1K every month!
What a terrific month and progress. I really like your diversification (stocks and industries/sectors). It’s amazing to see how you can build a portfolio slowly, but surely of some of the best businesses out there.
I’m trying to hit the $200 for as many months as possible in 2019. It begins with small numbers and amounts.
I’m looking forward to read about your progress. 👍
Thanks, DC. The portfolio growth does start small in $ amounts, but the percentage growth is large. In time, that reverses and you’ll see large $ amount gains with smaller growth percentages. It’s an amazing process.
Hitting $200/mo. for each month (or as many months as you can) of 2019 would be awesome. Sounds like you already set one of your goals for next year!
Thanks for stopping in and leaving a comment.