September 2026 Stock Watch List

As I'm writing this blog post, it's currently Tuesday, August 11th. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin reached a high of 85 degrees Fahrenheit today, with a heat index of 89 degrees. So, I limited my time spent outside.

With August almost half in the books, I will be turning my attention to several of the picks at the top of my watch list for September 2026. Without further ado, let's dive into it!

Stock #1: Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)

The first stock on my watch list for September 2026 is Amazon.com. I'm running it back from my August 2026 Stock Watch List blog post.

The Q2 earnings report released on Jul. 30 reinforced my investment thesis. The key highlights included the strongest quarter of growth for AWS since Q4 2021 (when AWS grew by roughly 40% to a $71 billion run rate business). In Q2 2026, the segment's growth accelerated from 28% in Q1 2026 to 37% in Q2 2026 (bringing the annual run rate to $169 billion heading into Q3 2026). 

For more context, AWS barely grew 17% on a much smaller base in Q2 2025. This is the latest and most concrete proof that the outsized capex in recent years is paying off in spades.

Then, there's the fact that the AI and chips businesses each topped $25 billion (with triple digit percentage YOY growth rates). Only NVIDIA and Broadcom have bigger businesses.

North America and International sales growth was exceptionally strong as well, with both growing at mid-teens percentage clips in Q2 2026. Overall, the company's OCF per share growth is poised to exceed 25% annually over the next several years.

AMZN is a financial fortress, with an AA S&P credit rating and a stable outlook.

GNG Research

From the current $272 share price, the stock is priced at a forward 12-month P/OCF ratio of 13.5. This is well below the 10-year average P/OCF ratio of 23.5 and 29% below my $382 fair value per share estimate (a fair value P/OCF ratio of 19). That also represents a 20% discount to the $342 fair value per share estimate (a fair value P/OCF ratio of roughly 17) of my friends at GNG Research.

Stock #2: Hamilton Lane Incorporated (HLNE)

The next stock on my watch list for the month ahead is Hamilton Lane Incorporated. After recently having sold a couple of lower conviction holdings to open a 1%+ starter position, this is a newcomer to my watch list.

As of Jun. 30, 2026, the global private markets investments solutions provider serving mostly institutional investors had $1.06 trillion in assets under management/advisement. Of that amount, $914.1 billion was AUA. The remaining $146.3 billion was AUM.

As private wealth professionals boost their market market investments in 2026 and beyond, this is an undeniable tailwind for HLNE. That's why the FAST Graphs analyst consensus is for its non-GAAP EPS to compound by 10.4% annually through FY 2029, off a FY 2026 base of $5.90.

The company's interest coverage ratio to kick off FY 2027 wasn't far off of 500, which is a testament to its financial strength. HLNE's non-GAAP EPS payout ratio is also likely to be in the mid-30% range for FY 2027, which should provide it plenty of room to hand out 10%+ annual dividend hikes over the next few years (very attractive when paired with a 2.3% starting yield).

GNG Research

At the current $106 share price (in after hours trading), HLNE is trading at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 14.5. That's far less than the nine-year average P/E ratio of 24 and 34% under my $161 fair value per share estimate (a fair value P/E ratio of 22). This is also 26% below the GNG Research fair value estimate of $143 per share (a fair value P/E ratio just above 19).

Stock #3: Mastercard Incorporated (MA)

The third stock on my watch list for September 2026 is Mastercard Incorporated. This is returning to the watch list for the first time since June 2026.

The company has ample growth drivers for the future. The biggest one is that the world is transitioning from cash to alternative payments. Mastercard's mix of the network effect and competent execution should power more growth in the credentials on its network (over 3.7 billion as of Jun. 30, 2026), gross dollar volumes, and switched transactions over the long term.

The digitalization of payment methods is also a complementary growth catalyst for Mastercard. This is because it raises the demand for its value-added services, such as fraud, identity, and cyber. That's why mid-teens percentage annual adjusted diluted EPS growth is likely over the next several years for Mastercard.

The company's A+ S&P credit rating also provides it with the low cost of capital to execute the occasional bolt-on acquisition that's complementary to the business. The 0.6% dividend yield is modest, but the payout ratio is likely to be in the high-teens percentage range for 2026.

GNG Research

From the current $565 share price (in after hours trading), Mastercard is priced at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 25.8. This is meaningfully below the 10-year average P/E ratio of 34.3 and 14% under my $656 fair value per share estimate. Shares are even more undervalued versus the GNG Research fair value per share estimate of $672, a 16% discount to fair value.

Honorable Mentions: PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) And Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)

On the income side of the equation, I'm planning on buying more PepsiCo, Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. In the case of the former, I laid out my case in this Seeking Alpha article. In short, I also believed VZ to be a decent value, having redeployed proceeds from my T. Rowe Price Group sale in July 2026 to it.

Concluding Thoughts:

That's all for now. Five quality businesses that I would like to add to in September 2026. Overall, I'm leaning toward a slight preference toward the growth-oriented names in terms of allocation. The more income-oriented names in the portfolio and the HLNE hybrid should keep me around the mid- to high-2% yield that I target.

Discussion:

Are any of AMZN, HLNE, MA, PEP, or VZ on your watch list for next month?

If not, what stocks are you watching for September 2026?

I appreciate your readership and welcome your comments below!

July 2026 Dividend Stock Purchases/Sales

As I'm writing this blog post, it's currently Tuesday, August 4th. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin reached a high of 81 degrees Fahrenheit earlier today, which was quite nice. Also of note, today is the 17th birthday of my family's cat, Thomas!

With that aside, the beginning of another month means it's time to highlight my dividend stock purchases/sales in July 2026. Let's dive into it!

Dividend Stock Purchase #1: Brookfield Asset Management (BAM)

I purchased another 24 shares of Brookfield Asset Management at an average cost of $48.98 a share. In my July 2026 Stock Watch List blog post, I outlined my investment thesis for BAM. This boosted my net annual forward dividends by $48.24, which equates to a 4.10% net dividend yield.

Dividend Stock Purchase #2: Genpact Limited (G)

My next purchase was 39 more shares of Genpact Limited at an average price per share of $29.48. Interested readers can find my investment thesis in my July 2026 Stock Watch List blog post linked earlier. That lifted my net annual forward dividends by $29.25, which is equivalent to a 2.54% net dividend yield.

Dividend Stock Purchase #3: McDonald's Corporation (MCD)

I also picked up another four shares of McDonald's Corporation at an average cost of $268.61 a share. Curious readers can peruse my investment thesis in my July 2026 Stock Watch List blog post. This raised my net annual forward dividends by $29.76, which works out to a 2.77% net dividend yield.

Dividend Stock Purchase #4: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)

My next purchase was an additional two shares of Microsoft Corporation at an average price per share of $395.19. Readers can check out my investment thesis in my July 2026 Stock Watch List blog post. That increased my net annual forward dividends by $7.28, which equates to a 0.92% net dividend yield.

Dividend Stock Purchase #5: NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)

I picked up another five shares of NVIDIA Corporation at an average cost of $208.13 a share. My investment thesis can again be found in my July 2026 Stock Watch List blog post. This move added another $5 to my net annual forward dividends, which is equivalent to a 0.48% net dividend yield.

Bonus Dividend Stock Purchase: Royal Gold, Inc. (RGLD)

My next purchase was an additional six shares of Royal Gold, Inc. at an average price per share of $192.77. Interested readers can find my investment thesis in this Seeking Alpha article co-produced with Treading Softly. Given that this increased my net annual forward dividends by $11.40, this works out to a 0.99% net dividend yield.

Dividend Stock Sales: Air Products & Chemicals (APD), Coca-Cola (KO), Rexford Industrial Realty (REXR), and T. Rowe Price Group (TROW)

I closed four positions in July 2026. I started the month by selling five shares of Air Products & Chemicals for an average price per share of $310.91. 

I also sold 30 shares of Rexford Industrial Realty for $34.06 apiece. 

Next, I closed out a 10 share position in Coca-Cola for $84.02 a share.

Finally, I sold six shares of T. Rowe Price Group for $120.17 a share.

Each of these sales were executed because of slow dividend growth, excessive valuations, or some combination of the two. These transactions reduced my net annual forward dividends by $140.80.

Dividend Stock Purchases: Accenture plc (ACN), Domino's Pizza, Inc. (DPZ), and Verizon Communications (VZ)

I rolled my proceeds from the APD and REXR sales plus an additional $250.11 into 20 starter shares of Accenture plc at an average cost per share of $141.32. Readers can find my investment thesis for ACN in my August 2026 Stock Watch List blog post.

I put my proceeds from my KO sale and an additional $984.04 into opening a six share starter position in Domino's Pizza, Inc. at an average price of $304.04 a share. Once again, the rationale for this move can be found in my August 2026 Stock Watch List blog post.

Lastly, I took my TROW sale proceeds and another $1.85 to add another 15 shares to my position in Verizon Communications at an average cost per share of $48.19. Overall, I thought this was a decent value for VZ.

In total, these moves added $220.61 to my net annual forward dividends.

Concluding Thoughts:

In July 2026, I deployed a record $7,623.01 in net capital. All of my wheeling and dealing added $210.74 to my net annual forward dividends, which equates to a 2.76% net dividend yield.

My net annual forward dividends also rose by $31.822 from 10 dividend raises in July 2026. These factors boosted my net annual forward dividends from around $7,770 to begin the month to about $8,010 heading into August 2026.

Discussion:

How was your capital deployment in July 2026?

Did you close any positions (as I did with APD, KO, REXR, and TROW) or open any new positions (as I did with ACN and DPZ) in the month?

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment below!

July 2026 Dividend Income

As I'm writing this blog post, it's currently Monday, July 27th. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit, with the heat index easily topping 100 degrees earlier today! As a result, I didn't really spend much time at all outside.

With that out of the way, I'll be going over my net dividend income for July 2026 now that the month is essentially over. Without further ado, let's jump into it!

Net Dividend Income Surpassed $350

In July 2026, I collected $359.31 in net dividends (including ADR fees for GSK). This was down 11.2% over the $404.84 in net dividends received in April 2026. Adjusting for the timing of dividend payments from Novo Nordisk and NVIDIA, my net dividends would have grown by 9.8%.

Against the $268.61 in net dividends collected in July 2025, that equates to a 33.8% year-over-year growth rate.

In my Charles Schwab account (and later taxable Robinhood account from a transfer), I received $262.16 in net dividends from 21 companies. As I alluded to earlier, the difference in company count and the decline in dividends versus April in this account was entirely attributed to the timing of dividend payments from NVO and NVDA.

I also collected $65.96 in net dividends from five companies in my Robinhood IRA portfolio.

Since opening Fidelity solo 401(k) in March and beginning funding in April 2026, I received my first dividends for the first month of a quarter in July 2026. These amounted to $23.60 from three companies (Automatic Data Processing, VICI Properties, and Intuit).

Lastly, I collected $7.59 in net dividends from two companies (Philip Morris International and Altria Group).

Concluding Thoughts:

When backing out the impact of timing of dividends from NVO and NVDA, my net dividend income was a new all-time high for the first month of a quarter. Through the first seven months of 2026, my net dividend income has jumped 27.6%. As I keep saving and investing as much as possible in the months to come, I believe that with God's providence, I can maintain a high-20% growth rate in dividend income in 2026.

Discussion:

How was your July 2026 for dividend income?

Did you receive any first-time dividends during the month?

Thanks for your readership and I look forward to your comments below!

Expected Dividend Increases for August 2026

As I'm writing this blog post, it's currently Tuesday, July 21st. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin is set to reach a high of 75 degrees Fahrenheit later today, with a sunny forecast. In other words, the forecast is absolutely perfect. So, I plan on getting outside today after the recent hot stretch!

With that aside, I will be going over the dividend raises that I have received thus far in July 2026 (and updating the others as they are announced in the coming days). I'll also be looking ahead to the payout boosts that I'm anticipating next month. Let's dig into it!

Actual Dividend Increases for July 2026

Dividend Increase #1: Cummins (CMI)

Cummins declared a 10% hike in its quarterly dividend per share to $2.20. That beat my prediction of an 8% raise to $2.16 in this series' prior blog post.

My net annual forward dividends rose by $4 across my five shares of CMI due to this dividend declaration.

Dividend Increase #2: Duke Energy (DUK)

Duke Energy announced a 1.9% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.085. This came in just below my forecast of a 2.3% increase in the quarterly dividend per share to $1.09.

Across my six shares of DUK, my net annual forward dividends edged $0.48 higher from this dividend announcement.

Distribution Increase #3: Enterprise Products Partners (EPD)

Enterprise Products Partners declared a 1.8% raise in its quarterly distribution per unit to $0.56. That was more than the 0.9% bump to $0.5550 that I was expecting.

My net annual forward distributions rose by $11 across my 275 units of EPD due to this distribution declaration.

Dividend Increase #4: JPMorgan Chase (JPM)

JPMorgan Chase announced a 10% boost in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.65. This was better than the 6.7% raise to $1.60 that I predicted.

Across my six shares of JPM, my net annual forward dividends grew by $3.60 from this dividend announcement.

Dividend Increase #5: NNN REIT (NNN)

NNN REIT declared a 3.3% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.62, which was in line with my forecast.

My net annual forward dividends were lifted by $5.76 across my 72 shares of NNN due to this dividend declaration.

Dividend Increase #6: J.M. Smucker (SJM)

J.M. Smucker announced a 1.8% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.12. This was less than the 2.7% raise to $1.13 that I was expecting.

Across my three shares of SJM, my net annual forward dividends inched $0.36 higher from this dividend announcement.

Dividend Increase #7: Wells Fargo (WFC)

Wells Fargo declared an 11.1% hike in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.50. That met my expectations.

My net annual forward dividends grew by $1.60 across my eight shares of WFC from this dividend announcement.

Pending Distribution Increase #1: Energy Transfer (ET)

Energy Transfer has yet to declare its next distribution. However, I continue to believe that ET will declare a 0.7% increase in its quarterly distribution per unit to $0.34.

My net annual forward distributions would increase by $2.07 across my 207 units due to such a distribution declaration.

UPDATE: As expected, ET declared a 0.7% bump in its quarterly distribution per unit to $0.34. Across my 207 units, this raised my net annual forward dividends by $2.07.

Pending Dividend Increase #2: Union Pacific (UNP)

Union Pacific hasn't yet announced its next dividend. Still, I'm maintaining my expectation for a 5.1% raise in the quarterly dividend per share to $1.45.

Across my nine shares of UNP, my net annual forward dividends would grow by $2.52 from such a dividend announcement.

UPDATE: UNP announced a 2.9% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.42. Given the ongoing merger with Norfolk Southern, the conservatism makes sense. This increased my net annual forward dividends by $1.44 across my nine shares of UNP.

Pending Dividend Increase #3: Essential Utilities (WTRG)

Finally, Essential Utilities hasn't declared its next dividend, either. However, I'm sticking with my forecast of a 5.1% increase to $0.36.

My net annual forward dividends would edge $1.462 higher across my 21 shares due to such a dividend distribution.

UPDATE: WTRG declared a 5.3% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.3606. Across my 21 shares of WTRG, that lifted my net annual forward dividends by $1.512.

Expected Dividend Increases for August 2026

Expected Dividend Increase #1: Carlisle Companies (CSL)

The first dividend boost that I'm expecting for August 2026 will come from Carlisle Companies. I believe that CSL will announce a 9.1% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.20.

Across my 11 shares of CSL, my net annual forward dividends would grow by $4.40 from such a dividend announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #2: Altria Group (MO)

The next dividend raise that I'm forecasting for next month will be from Altria Group. My best guess is that MO will declare a 4.7% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.11.

My net annual forward dividends would rise by $4.80 across my 24 shares due to such a dividend declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #3: Intuit (INTU)

The final dividend boost that I'm predicting for August 2026 will come from Intuit. My guess is that INTU will hike its quarterly dividend per share by 15% to $1.38.

Across my 10 shares of INTU, my net annual forward dividends would surge $7.20 higher from such a dividend announcement.

Concluding Thoughts:

My net annual forward dividends rose by $31.822 across 10 dividend raises in July 2026. That would be like investing $1,060.73 at a 3% net dividend yield.

If my three dividend hikes in August 2026 materialize, my net annual forward dividends would grow by $16.40. This would be equivalent to investing $546.67 at a 3% net dividend yield.

Discussion:

How was your July 2026 for dividend raises?

Are you expecting any first-time payout boosts in August as I am with CSL and INTU?

I appreciate your readership and welcome your comments below!