Hello, all!  I made transactions in my Portfolio last week and it’s time I provide an update before more time goes by.

There were two total transactions, both small buys.  In one case, I added to a holding for the first time in over 2 and a half years.  In the other case, it was the first addition to the stock in a little less than 4 months.

As it turns out, both buys added to my two largest Portfolio sectors: Information Technology and Healthcare.  You probably already know, I’m actively trying to increase my Portfolio’s weighting in technology.  However, I’m not necessarily looking to do so in Healthcare.

Let’s find out more about these two stocks.  Here are my purchase details…

 

Automatic Data Processing (ADP)

I started buying ADP at the beginning of the pandemic.  I was a bit early with my initial purchase and rode the stock down, buying more lots along the way.

Unfortunately, I never timed the bottom.  Instead, I added more shares after the initial rebound started.  I was all done buying by August 2020, shortly before the stock price really started running up.

I haven’t added to my position until now.  While I don’t consider the stock to be trading at a discount right now, it has fallen to a P/E ratio that is hasn’t seen since January 2021 (over 2 years!).

ADP is a stock that never seems to be undervalued, so it rarely seems like a good time to buy.  However, it’s a position I want to build, especially since it increases my weighting in the Information Technology sector.

With double-digit EPS growth forecasted in the near-term, and annualized double-digit dividend growth posted over the past decade, adding a few share here doesn’t seem like a horrible idea.

On 4/4/23, I bought 2 shares of ADP at $213.00, for a total of $426.00.  The stock was yielding 2.35% at that price, which is 1/2 percentage point below my current Portfolio average of 2.85%.

My ADP position grew by roughly 3.75%, while the number of shares I own rose to 55.344 shares.  The purchase raised my cost basis to $159.99/share.

My Portfolio’s annual forward dividend income increased by $10.00 with the purchase.

Should ADP drop further in price, I’ll look to add a few more shares.  I’ll consider a bigger purchase should the stock drop below $200.

ADP is currently my 22nd largest position out of 60 stocks.  It has settled a decent $ amount behind Starbucks (SBUX), but a fair $ amount ahead of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM).

 

Medtronic (MDT)

My foray into MDT began last June when I initiated a position at $97.50/share.  I added 6 more times over the course of the following 6 months, averaging down along the way.  The position was growing nicely.

MDT started 2023 around a price of $78.  It climbed over $87 before dropping again under $80.  The stock looks reasonably valued at this time.

The forecast for MDT over the coming year looks flat to slight negative, but it’s expected to rebound to high single-digit growth in 2024.  So, not as rosy of a near-term outlook compared to ADP.

MDT remains my smallest Healthcare holding, so I don’t mind growing the position further while it trades at a fair valuation.

On 4/4/23, I bought 5 shares of MDT at $79.50, for a total of $397.50.  The stock was yielding 3.42% at that price, which is more than 1/2 percentage point above my current Portfolio yield.

My MDT position grew almost 9% with the purchase.  The number of shares I own climbed to 60.873 shares.  The purchase lowered my cost basis to $85.35/share.

My Portfolio’s annual forward dividend income increased by $13.60 as a result of the purchase.

If MDT continues to trade below $80, it will remain on my radar for further share purchases.

Overall, MDT is my 43rd largest position.  In my Portfolio rankings it’s sandwiched between Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) and Hormel Foods (HRL).

 

With both ADP and MDT being existing holdings, the number of stocks in my Portfolio held steady at 60.

 

Summary

I made a pair of purchases for my Portfolio in the first week of April.  The purchase amounts were small, but each stock got roughly the same dollar amount invested.

I added 2 shares of ADP and 5 shares of MDT.  The ADP buy raised my cost basis in that stock, but the MDT buy lowered my cost basis in that one.

The two purchases resulted in an investment of $823.50 into my Portfolio.  Not to forget, my forward dividend income rose by $23.60, too.

Both stocks could be ripe for further additions should they hover at their current stock prices or retreat further from here.

 

Do you own ADP or MDT?  Which looks like the better purchase to you?  What have you been buying lately?  Please share in the comments!