My Portfolio transactions continue!  Here’s another pair to share.

Just a couple of stocks were involved this time around… both existing holdings, and both fairly new to my Portfolio.

I trimmed one holding, then invested the proceeds and some cash into another holding.

Both stocks sport yields north of 4.8%.  The stock I purchased had a higher yield than the one I trimmed, so my forward dividend income rose after the two moves.

Here are the corresponding details…

 

National Retail Properties (NNN)

A little over a year ago I initiated a position in NNN at ~$44.65/share.  I proceeded to add to that position in January of this year, then again just last month (early October).

With the two additions I was able to average down my cost basis each time… rather significantly with the October buy.

So, when NNN gained 15% over the past month (a quick move for this stock), I decided to sell my most expensive shares for a small gain and use the proceeds to add to a more undervalued stock (more on this later).

On 11/15/22, I sold 30 NNN shares at $45.205/share.  The sale proceeds were $1,356.12, after the $0.03 SEC fee.

I specifically sold the NNN shares that I initiated my position with back on 9/23/2021.  The sale reduced my NNN share count by 37.5%.

At my sale price, shares of NNN yielded 4.87%.  This yield is more than 2% higher than my current Portfolio yield of 2.72%.

I did squeak out a long-term holding period on the shares I sold.  I realized a long-term capital gain of $16.65.  The sale also resulted in a reduction of $66 in annual forward dividend income.

My Portfolio still contains 50.897 shares of NNN.  However, the trim dropped NNN in my Portfolio rankings and it now stands as my 4th smallest position in a Portfolio of 58 stocks.  NNN is behind FedEx (FDX) but ahead of McCormick & Co. (MKC) in my rankings.

I took my NNN sale proceeds, added some cash, and made the following purchase…

 

Verizon Communications (VZ)

VZ only entered my Portfolio back in March.  I’ve added to my initial position multiple times already as the price has kept dropping.

This most recent buy was already my 5th addition to my VZ position.  It was also the lowest per share price I paid.

I could have purchased the stock for an even lower price in October, but I was focused on other stocks at that time.

While I’m not a big fan of the dividend growth for VZ (only ~2% for several years), its yield is significant and the shares look quite undervalued to me.

So, I made a share purchase that matched the size of my initial one in the stock, and subsequently made a nice reduction in my VZ cost basis.

One other item to note… in comparison to NNN, the VZ dividend is a qualified dividend, something that NNN doesn’t offer as a REIT.

On 11/15/22, I bought 40 shares of VZ at $38.15/share, for a total of $1,526.00.  This was a 55.2% increase in the size of my position.

The stock yielded 6.84% at my purchase price, or roughly 2.5x my current Portfolio average.

I now own 112.474 shares of VZ.  My cost basis was lowered to $45.35/share… which was a drop of nearly $4/share.

My annual forward dividend income increased by $104.40 as a result of the purchase.  This more than made up for the lost dividend income due to the NNN trim.

VZ is now my 43rd largest Portfolio position… still in the bottom third, but moving up.  In my Portfolio ranks, VZ is nestled in between a couple of my Utility stocks in Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) and OGE Energy (OGE).

 

Summary

November remained busy with yet another set of Portfolio transactions.  In this case, it was just a pair of moves, consisting of one trim and one purchase of existing Portfolio positions.

I trimmed REIT NNN and used the sale proceeds and some cash to invest again in Communication Services stock VZ.

Factoring in both transactions, I made a net investment of $169.88 into my Portfolio.  My annual forward dividend income increased by $38.40 thanks to VZ’s bigger yield and the cash I invested.

I realized a long-term capital gain of $16.65 on the NNN trim, as well.

With both NNN & VZ already being existing Portfolio stocks, the number of stocks in my Portfolio held steady at 58.

 

What stocks have been involved in your most recent transactions?  I look forward to your comments!