The last time I purchased some stock was a little over 2 months ago. However, I recently got off the sidelines and added to a pair of my existing Portfolio holdings.
As it turned out, the two stocks I purchased this past week were also part of my last purchase group in early May.
Given the continued uncertainty in the markets due to the ongoing pandemic, I targeted quality companies with strong histories of dividend growth. One of these stocks is approaching Dividend King status, while the other is coming up on Dividend Aristocrat status.
I’ve added to both these positions in small lots over the course of time. Each has become a decent size position and both now reside in the middle of my Portfolio in terms of value.
Of course, the purchases increased my forward dividend income a bit, which is a nice feeling after posting a negative number in May, and showing no gain in June with regard to additional forward dividend income due to new investment.
So, let’s examine what I purchased and see where that leaves each position in my Portfolio.
General Dynamics (GD)
This week’s purchase of GD was at a higher price than my previous pair of GD purchases, but it’s still below my average purchase price, so I continue to lower my cost basis in GD.
Unfortunately, I made my GD purchase 2-3 days too early, missing a chance to scoop up the shares at an even lower price (over 5% lower).
Still, I feel good about the purchase, as I view GD as undervalued these days.
On 7/7/20, I purchased 5 shares of GD at $146.441/sh., for a total of $732.21. My GD share total now stands as 50.926 shares.
The stock yielded 3.00% at my purchase price (slightly above my current Portfolio average of 2.87%).
This purchase resulted in the addition of $22.00 in annual forward dividend income. It’s nice to see another boost to my forward dividend income. Sadly, I bought the shares a few days after the ex-dividend date, so I won’t see the impact of this purchase in my dividend income until November.
With this purchase, my GD position has grown to the 24th largest in my Portfolio, sandwiched in between Gilead Sciences (GILD) and Texas Instruments (TXN).
Automatic Data Processing (ADP)
It seems that as long as the unemployment numbers remain elevated, ADP will struggle to garner some investing excitement.
As a result, ADP has not really participated in price gains as much as other stocks since the market depths of late March. However, that has offered me the opportunity to add ADP shares over time.
I didn’t initiate a position in ADP until late this past February, but I’ve added shares almost every month since that time. There’s still room to grow this position further.
This particular ADP purchase was at my lowest price yet, just barely lower than that previous purchase in early May. So, this position was averaged down as well.
On 7/9/20, I purchased 5 shares of ADP at $145.50/sh., for a total of $727.50. My ADP share total now stands at 45.490 shares.
The stock yielded 2.50% at my purchase price, or 0.37% below my current Portfolio average.
This purchase resulted in the addition of $18.20 in annual forward dividend income.
With this purchase, my ADP position is now the 28th largest in my Portfolio, right behind Comcast (CMCSA) and ahead of JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM).
Summary
It’s been a couple of months, but I’m back to buying stocks again. New stocks means additional forward dividend income, too…. yippee!
I focused on adding to my existing Portfolio companies… two quality companies in GD and ADP.
These stocks continue to move up my Portfolio value rankings. Both are now firmly in the middle of my Portfolio with respect to value.
The result of the two purchases was a net investment into my Portfolio of $1,459.71. My annual forward dividend income increased by $40.20 and has reached a total of $11,658.35.
Since both purchases were to existing Portfolio holdings, the number of stocks in my Portfolio remained at 50.
If I get a chance to add more GD or ADP shares at even lower prices, I’ll scrounge up some cash to get the job done.
Have you been on pause recently when it comes to stock purchases? Or have you found a way to keep adding shares? Please share in the comments!
Love the ADP pickup! That’s been at the top of my “new buy” list for some time.
Curious if you’re sticking with WFC after adding recently. I just sold my small WFC holding today and plan to shift to another financial company.
ADP continues to trend down while other stocks recover, Dozer. I’ll try to continue adding shares if that continues.
I’m still sticking with WFC for now. Although it’s not a big position for me (especially after their share price decline in 2020), their dividend weight in my Portfolio was more significant, so the cut certainly stings.
It’s possible I sell WFC before year’s end if their prospects don’t look any better by then, as I could employ some tax loss harvesting by selling my stake.
One more step to achieving financial independence! Love both buys, even though I don’t own any of the companies myself.
I haven’t been very active recently in investing but I should add a company this month. Most probably, I will look into Utilities, as I would like to increase exposure to this sector in my portfolio.
One more step, indeed. I’m still looking to add to both, too.
These buys ended about a 2-month purchase drought for me, so I hear you regarding not being too active with investing lately.
I’m still missing a Utility in my Portfolio. I’ve had my eyes on NEE, but it’s nowhere near the level I hope to buy in.
Thanks for stopping by, BI!