This past week I made my first purchases for September – 3 in total. My monthly Portfolio transactions had been quiet until then.
I invested roughly the same amount into each stock. All the buys were of existing Portfolio holdings.
In addition, I’ve bought all 3 of these stocks at least once already this year. So, I continue to grow these positions.
Here are the details for all 3 of my purchases…
American Tower (AMT)
AMT continues to dive in price along with plenty of other REITs in this rising, or higher for longer, interest rate environment.
On 9/22/23, I bought 3 shares of AMT at $166.66, for a total of $499.98. The stock was yielding 3.89% at that price, or roughly 1 percentage point higher than my current Portfolio yield of 2.93%.
My AMT position grew almost 19.8% with the purchase. The number of shares I own rose to 18.174 shares.
This was my fifth AMT buy, and my lowest purchase price for AMT since I initiated a position back in February. This purchase lowered my cost basis to $193.27/share.
My Portfolio’s annual forward dividend income increased by $19.44 as a result of the purchase.
AMT has continued to drop in price since my buy late last week. It’s now sitting below $160. It’s possible I add again, but with so many stocks falling in price I may look to add elsewhere.
Despite several purchases this year, AMT is still my 7th smallest Portfolio position. It’s slightly behind VICI Properties (VICI) in Portfolio value, but comfortably ahead of The Walt Disney Co. (DIS).
NextEra Energy (NEE)
Another stock on a long losing streak is NEE. This Utilities stock has dropped over 30% in 2023, along side many other stocks from the sector.
Despite the drop, it seemed the long-term prospects were still intact, so I bought some additional shares, averaging down my cost basis in the process.
On 9/26/23, I bought 10 shares of NEE at $65.355, for a total of $653.55. The stock was yielding 2.86% at that price, which just about matches my current Portfolio yield.
My NEE position got 17.7% larger with the purchase. The number of shares I own is now 66.363 shares.
This was my lowest NEE purchase price yet and just my 2nd below $70. This buy dropped my NEE cost basis to $71.37/share.
My Portfolio’s annual forward dividend income increased by $18.70 as a result of the purchase.
Unfortunately, I was one day too early with my purchase, as NEE announced a major reduction to their growth outlook the next day, which investors obviously viewed negatively, driving down the price. Shares can now be had in the upper $50s.
I’d consider adding more NEE shares at the current level, but I plan to wait a bit to see if the stock takes another leg down in price.
After this buy, NEE became my 2nd largest Utilities stock, and moved up my Portfolio rankings, yet it still remains my 14th smallest holding. NEE slightly trails FedEx (FDX) in terms of Portfolio value, but is a bit ahead of fellow Utilities stock OGE Energy (OGE).
Microsoft (MSFT)
I’m always looking to boost my Information Technology holdings and I got the chance with a recent dip in the shares of MSFT.
I’ve been adding single shares of MSFT in the recent past (6 times straight), but this time I doubled up!
On 9/26/23, I bought 2 shares of MSFT at $310.49, totaling $620.98. The stock was yielding 0.97% at that price. This low yield reflects a recently boosted dividend, too.
My MSFT position is now 12.2% bigger, and the number of shares I own has settled at 18.37 shares. The purchase raised my cost basis by more than $14/share, to $194.81/share.
My Portfolio’s annual forward dividend income wasn’t boosted significantly by the MSFT purchase. It increased only $6.
MSFT is currently my 38th largest position. It’s not far behind Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) in my Portfolio value rankings, but it has a healthy lead over Eastman Chemical (EMN).
I plan to keep building out my MSFT position over time. I’ll definitely look to add again should the price dip below $300.
With all 3 of my buys being existing holdings, the number of stocks in my Portfolio remained at 60.
Summary
I made a trio of purchases this past week, my first transactions in September. All three of the moves were buys of existing Portfolio stocks.
All the stocks were smaller Portfolio positions that I was happy to see get bigger. I invested roughly the same amount in each stock.
I added 3 shares of AMT, 10 shares of NEE and 2 shares of MSFT. In the case of AMT & NEE, I lowered my cost basis. However, my cost basis for MSFT went up with my share add.
The three purchases resulted in a total investment of $1,774.51 into my Portfolio. My forward dividend income increased by $44.14 thanks to the three buys.
I’m willing to keep buying more shares of all 3 stocks should they continue to drop in price. However, I’ve got my eyes peeled for other opportunities as well. We’ll see how the future buying goes.
Do you have one or more of these stocks I just bought in your portfolio? In your opinion, which stock appears most attractively priced at this time? Please share in the comments!