Woo-hoo!  The first dividend income of 2023 has arrived and can be tallied.  It’s always exciting to kick off a new year and think about what can be accomplished.

I’ve got a list of some things I’d like to accomplish when it comes to my Portfolio, and I outlined those in this recent post… 2023 Portfolio Goals.

January was my first chance to start working toward those goals.  I’m optimistic that I can be successful over the course of the year, especially given how I started this January.

Here’s a quick preview of my dividend income post this month…

I didn’t set any monthly income records in January, however, I still eclipsed $1.2K.

I also saw some nice Year-over-Year (YoY) growth, more than the 15% target I set.  That’s always a good way to start the year.

Forward dividend income is where I really shined in January.  One of my sources provided its best ever amount, which led to a strong monthly total when counting all the sources.  I can’t wait to share.

In 2023, I’ll be shooting for better than $35 per month in forward dividend income from reinvested dividends each month.  Stick around to see the gains provided by my reinvested dividends in January.

Dividend raises were outstanding in January.  I had one stellar raise that provided most of my new forward dividend income, but one disappointing raise as well.  I thought the other raises were solid.  All in all, January delivered on the dividend raise front, as this was where I set a record.

I had a couple of purchases during the month that generated some new forward dividend income, too.  I’m planning to invest more new capital this year than in each of the past few years.  This is exciting, as it should help my Portfolio grow even faster.

When adding up the forward dividend income contributions from all 3 of my sources (reinvested dividends, dividend raises, and investment of capital), I’m off to a tremendous start for 2023.  Wait until you see the additional forward dividend income total I posted for January.

Considering my dividend results in January 2023, it looks like it could be an outstanding year for my Portfolio.  Let’s start with my dividend income details…

 

Dividend Income

 

In January, I raked in a total of $1,225.34 in dividends.  This was a great way to start the year.  I expect I will top $1.2K every month in 2023!

January’s YoY dividend growth of 18.12% blew past my 15% monthly target after this month’s dividend income surpassed the $1,037.34 that I was paid in January of 2022.  Let’s hope I can keep this up!

A total of 21 companies paid me a dividend in January, with almost half of them providing $50 or more.  Three of my dividend payers managed to deliver a triple-digit dividend!

My dividend payers were led by Pepsico (PEP), which deposited $132.11 into my account.  This came in just ahead of the $127.00 that Altria Group (MO) paid.  RPM International (RPM) also managed to provide more than the century mark, delivering $106.21.

My smallest dividend came from McCormick & Co. (MKC), which was just south of double-digits, at $9.80.  I made a small purchase of MKC during the month so I can expect this dividend to be a little higher next quarter.

The increased dividend amounts from Merck & Co. (MRK), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Omnicom Group (OMC), Comcast (CMCSA) and Medical Properties Trust (MPW) were each helped by one or more purchases over the past year.

Increased YoY amounts for all other companies were a result of dividend increases and reinvested dividends over the past year.  I added over $14 in YoY dividend gains from MO, in excess of $12 from Automatic Data Processing (ADP), north of $11 from PEP, more than $7 from Illinois Tool Works (ITW), and over $6 from RPM.

I’m happy to report that no stocks that paid me both last year and this year had a payout reduction.  This means no trim of my holdings by me, and no dividend cuts/suspensions from my holdings.

New dividend payers this January were rather plentiful.  I had 5 new stocks deliver a new dividend payment.  The group was led by Best Buy (BBY) at $44, with VICI Properties (VICI) and Medtronic (MDT) not too far behind, paying $39.38 and $37.67, respectively.  FedEx (FDX) started with $16.10 and lastly there was MKC with that $9.80 I mentioned earlier.

As for stocks no longer paying me a dividend in January, there were a pair of stocks meeting this criteria: W.P. Carey (WPC) and Gentex (GNTX).  Both stocks were eliminated from my Portfolio during the past year due to anemic or no dividend growth.  Both of these stocks paid me a little more than $41 each last January.  I hate giving up the dividend income, but I was ready to move on.

As usual, all my dividends got automatically reinvested into the stocks that paid them.  The additional forward dividend income boost that resulted from the reinvestment was $46.25.  This was a strong way to start the year.  This total blew away my $35 target.  MO was by far the biggest contributor to this total by providing a boost of more than $10.  The reinvested dividends from MPW and PEP added more than $4 and $3, respectively, to my additional forward dividend income total as well.

As a result of January’s reinvested dividends, I purchased over 19 new shares of stock.  This included over 3 shares of MPW and more than 2 shares of MO.  More than 1 share came from each of the following stocks: CMCSA, VICI, RPM and OGE Energy (OGE).

 

Dividend Raises

In December, all of my dividend raises were announced in the 1st half of the month.  In January, they were all announced in the 2nd half of the month.  I guess all the companies took time for a Christmas and New Year’s break.

Just like last month, 6 dividend raises were announced in my Portfolio.  However, the impact of January’s dividend raises were much more significant.

My star of the month was Nexstar Media Group (NXST).  The company announced a massive 50% increase of its dividend.  With NXST being one of my largest dividend payers, the impact was huge.  The raise boosted by forward dividend income by an incredible $197.08.  Just to give you an idea of how huge this was, my Portfolio had never even seen a forward dividend income increase of $100 due to a single dividend raise, let alone nearly $200.  Wow!

I had a couple other double-digit dividend raises this month.  These were a 12.9% boost from Fastenal (FAST) and a 10.13% raise from Amdocs Ltd. (DOX).  The impact to my forward dividend income from the FAST raise was fairly substantial ($52.22) considering that FAST is another of my larger dividend payers.  On the other hand, DOX is one of my smallest dividend payers, so its raise only slightly increased my forward dividend income ($6.40).

Both Air Products & Chemicals (APD) and Comcast (CMCSA) provided solid dividend raises of 8.02% and 7.41%, respectively.  Each of these resulted in a nice boost to my forward dividend income of around $17.

My most disappointing raise without question was the one from BlackRock (BLK).  The average raise from BLK over the past 5 years has been 14.31%, so to hear about a 2.46% hike was underwhelming, for sure.  I hope this will be just a temporary (one-year) setback for BLK given that it Assets Under Management (AUM) took such a bit hit in 2022.  Despite the small raise, my forward dividend income did rise another $12.46 since BLK is one of my larger dividend payers.

One bright note from this month’s raise announcements was that of the six dividend raises I received, four managed to exceed their raise percentage from last year.  Hopefully, this is a sign of something good to expect in 2023.  Dividend raises provide the largest increase to my forward dividend income of all three sources.  So, having a good year with respect to dividend raises usually means a good year of additional forward dividend income for my Portfolio.

 

 

Adding up the dividend raises from January, my forward dividend income increased by a whopping $302.46.  This was my first time crossing the $300 threshold in a single month!

I’d have to invest $11,079.12 at my Portfolio’s current yield of 2.73% in order to receive the same boost to my forward dividend income as this month’s raises.  That’s close to my new capital investment for all of 2022!

Looking ahead to February, the quantity of dividend raises should keep rolling in.  However, the impact will more than likely be reduced compared to January.  Still, I’m hoping I can have a triple-digit month when I add up all the additional forward dividend income.  I should be hearing about raises from Quest Diagnostics (DGX), T. Rowe Price Group (TROW), 3M Co. (MMM), PEP, Cisco Systems (CSCO), NextEra Energy (NEE), OMC, MPW and Whirlpool (WHR).  I’ve already heard a raise announcement from DGX, but I’ll save that for next month.

 

Dividends Due To New Investment

I didn’t get carried away with Portfolio moves in January.  I was fairly measured when it came down to it.  Sometimes it makes sense to see how the new year is going to unfold.

I didn’t sell anything, but I did make a pair of purchases.  One of the buys resulted in me establishing a new Portfolio position, while the other added to one of my smallest positions.

With the first buy I added a new stock to my Consumer Discretionary holdings.  I guess you could say it’s a starter position, as it starts out as my smallest Portfolio position.  I scooped up a few shares of WHR.  I liked its yield and current valuation at the time, in addition to its recent dividend growth.

My other buy bolstered my small MKC position.  MKC is a stock I initiated a position in last September, but hadn’t added to since.  Its recent price drop gave me the opportunity to average down my cost basis a bit.

Details for the two buys can be found in the following pair of posts…

 

Recent Buy – WHR

Recent Buy – MKC

 

The two buys resulted in a net investment of $1,235.50.  In addition, my forward dividend income rose by a total of $49.80, with most of that coming from WHR.

With WHR being a new holding, the number of stocks in my Portfolio rose to a nice, round 60.

 

Tallying Up The Additional Forward Dividend Income

In 2023, I continue tracking my additional forward dividend income generated each month from the trifecta of sources: reinvested dividends, dividend raises, and new capital investment.

I show 2022 totals as well, so that we can compare as the year progresses.  2022 was a good year, so a challenge awaits me if I wish to surpass those numbers.

 

 

In January, I registered $398.51 of additional forward dividend income.  What a month!  So close to $400.  This was my 2nd best monthly total ever, trailing only the $467.97 from February, 2018.  I suspect this just might end up being my best monthly total in 2023… we’ll see.

Dividend Raises stole the show in January, delivering $302.46 in additional forward dividend income.  That set a record… my largest income boost from Dividend Raises in a single month.  My previous best was $239.74 from February, 2018.

I was happy with the contributions from Reinvested Dividends and Investment of Capital, too.  Averaging between $45-$50 every month during the year in those categories would be fine with me.

All three sources posted bigger numbers this month than they did in January, 2022.  That’s a recipe for crushing last year’s totals if I can keep that up.

 

Progress Charts

The following are progress charts, also available on my Dividends page.  I’m off to a great start in 2023.  The YoY gain this month stands out… it being the only gray bar helps, I’m sure.

 

 

 

On an annual basis, here’s what the dividend totals look like.  It looks like a tall mountain to climb after only one month of results for 2023, but I’ll get there.

 

 

Summary

I collected over $1,225 in dividends in January, on the back of a healthy 18.1% YoY gain.  I came out of the gates running!

I had 21 dividend payments in all, with 3 of them being triple-digit amounts, and with the $132+ from PEP leading the way.

Additional forward dividend income from Reinvested Dividends started strong.  They added over $46 in January, blowing past my $35 target.

I recorded 6 dividend raises in January, the same total as last month.  Yet, these January raises jacked up my additional forward dividend income by more than $302 – a new record for a single month.  Over $197 came thanks to a 50% dividend hike from NXST.

My Portfolio transactions in January consisted of 2 buys.  In one case, I established a new position, adding a few shares of WHR and having it start out as my smallest position.  I also added some shares of MKC with its recent price drop – just my 2nd buy of MKC since I initiated a position last year.  The net investment for the two purchases was a little over $1,235.  Additional forward dividend income rose by almost $50 due to these two buys.

Tallying the contributions from all sources, over $398 in forward dividend income was added my Portfolio in January.  It was a great beginning to what’s hopefully a terrific 2023.

As for my Portfolio’s annual forward dividend income, I finished the month with a total of $16,863.60 (or $1,405.30/month).  Next milestone… $1.5K/month!

 

Did your Portfolio start the year with an outstanding dividend income total?  How were dividend raises for you this month?… there’s usually lots of raise announcements in the first two months of the year.  Please share in the Comments!

I have updated the Portfolio & Dividends pages in conjunction with this monthly update.