I made my first stock purchase of 2019 back in April when I initiated a position in General Dynamics (GD).  Now I’ve made the bookend purchase to close out the year, as I recently added some additional shares of GD.  I wouldn’t have predicted the same stock being purchased first and last for the year, but that’s how it appears it will turn out.

I suspect this will be it for Portfolio transactions for 2019.  However, it’s possible a stock will strike my fancy during the last couple of trading days in 2019.

From my purchase post back in April, here’s a little background on the company… GD is an aerospace and defense company headquartered in Virginia (just west of Washington D.C.), but operating worldwide.  In fact, GD has locations in more than 45 countries.  From the company website… “From Gulfstream business jets and combat vehicles to nuclear-powered submarines and communications systems, people around the world depend on our products and services for their safety and security.”  The company operates in 5 different business segments: Aerospace, Mission Systems, Combat Systems, Information Technology, and Marine Systems.  The business is spread out fairly evenly across these segments.

GD has not been participating as much as my other Portfolio stocks during the 2019 market rally, and it remains fairly valued to me, just as it was back in April.  This is a position I was looking to build, so adding some shares helps accomplish that goal.

Here are the details for my latest purchase of General Dynamics…

GD

On Thursday, 12/26/19, I purchased 10 shares at $177.75/sh, for a total of $1,779.50 after commission.  My GD position now stands at 35.427 shares.

So, it appears Santa delivered a Christmas addition for my Portfolio stocking.  A Dividend Champion (aka Aristocrat) no less!  And since GD pays dividends, it should be a gift that keeps on giving year after year.

GD goes ex-dividend in mid-January, so these new shares will provide a boost to my next GD dividend in February.

With the growing position, GD is now the 33rd largest position in my Portfolio (out of 46).  It’s right behind Texas Instruments (TXN) and just ahead of Comcast (CMCSA).  I’d be happy if GD continues to move up the value ranks in my Portfolio thanks to additional purchases.

GD shares were yielding ~2.29% at my recent purchase price, about 0.22% below my Portfolio average.  This was a slightly lower yield than I received when I initiated my GD position back in April.

This purchase results in an additional $40.80 in annual forward dividend income, bringing my Portfolio’s current total to $10,795.14.  I should reach $10,800 in forward dividend income by year’s end (a solid $900/month average) with the help of a few remaining dividends that will be reinvested this week.

Here’s a look at the dividend growth history for GD, dating back to the year 2000.  I just updated the table to reflect the dividends paid in 2019.

GD is essentially growing their dividend at a 10% rate during all the measurement periods.  Hard not to like that!

The last GD dividend raise was back in March, and was a healthy 9.68%, just a tad below that 10% mark.  The next GD raise should only be about 1 quarter away.

Have you made any purchases lately?  Might you be stockpiling your cash for 2020?  I look forward to your comments!