December is off to a quick start as far as transactions go.  I’ve got 3 buys to report on this time.  Two are additions to existing positions, and one is a new Portfolio position.

Here are some details for these 3 buys…

 

Gilead Sciences (GILD)

Biotech GILD has been far from a stellar performer for my Portfolio, but I chose to continue to average down, building the position just a bit more.

I’ve made 3 prior purchases of GILD over the past 3 years, and the price I paid for these shares is less than each of the others, which ranged from $72.56 to $82.95.

On 12/3/18, I added 13 shares of GILD at $71.17/sh, for a total of $927.21 after commissions.  The additional 13 shares brings my share total to 121.075 shares.

This purchase results in the addition of $29.64 in annual forward dividend income.

The purchase was just ahead of the ex-dividend date, so I should see some of the additional dividend income arrive later this month.

GILD is roughly an average size position in my Portfolio.  After this purchase, I’m no longer looking to add to this position.

 

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM)

Financials have had a rough go of it in the current market, and the pull back in JPM was enough to get me to initiate a position.  JPM is a multinational investment bank and financial services company, headquartered in New York City.  They are the largest U.S. bank, and the 2nd largest in the world, based on total assets (over 2.5 trillion!)

The stock has essentially traded sideways all of 2018, but was very near the 52-week low when I bought.

I’ve been trying to find a good time to add JPM to my Portfolio and I decided I should just go for it.  I know I’ll certainly watch it more closely once it’s part of my Portfolio, regardless of the position size.

On 12/6/18, I added 25 shares of JPM at $103.75/sh, for a total of $2,595.75 after commissions.

This purchase brings with it the addition of $80.00 in annual forward dividend income.

JPM becomes the 42nd stock in my Portfolio, and starts out as the smallest position.  I’ll be looking to grow this position should the price decline below the $96 level.

Below is a look at their dividend growth history.  You can see the hefty decline during the time of the financial crisis.  However, JPM has been raising their dividend at a nice clip over the past 5+ years, and now has an 8-year streak of raising their dividend.  JPM’s most recent dividend increase was a whopping 42.86%.

 

Target (TGT)

Shares of TGT have had such a swift decline over the past 2 months (over a 20% drop), that I couldn’t help but add a few shares to bolster my position.  The stock is now at a price level it hasn’t seen since January.

The retailer has worked hard over the past year to convince investors that they were not getting left behind by the likes of Amazon and Walmart.  Good progress was made over the course of the year, but that hasn’t stopped TGT from dropping with the market.

On 12/13/18, I added 10 shares of TGT at $66.50/sh, for a total of $667.00 after commissions.  The additional 10 shares brings my TGT share total to 99.607 shares.  I should reach 100 shares as a result of the next reinvested dividend in March.

This purchase results in the addition of $25.60 in annual forward dividend income.

If TGT continues to fall, I could see me making another small purchase, as this is a position I’d be willing to add to.

 

Summary

So three additions were made, with JPM being a new addition to my Portfolio.  I can’t say my timing was the best on the GILD and JPM purchases, as their share prices have continued to decline, but I’m confident that in the long run I’ll be happy with the prices I paid.

In total, I invested $4,189.96 across the three purchases, and this resulted in a boost of $135.24 to my projected annual dividend income.

Have you been buying at a more aggressive pace than usual thanks to the lower prices offered by the market?  Or do you continue to invest at a regular clip?  I’d love to hear about it in the comments.