May 2021 Dividend Stock Purchases

As I'm writing this blog post, the official start of summer is just over one week away, but that hasn't stopped the temperatures from reaching into highs within the upper 80s to low 90s Fahrenheit in Central Wisconsin over the past few days!

Aside from that update, I will be discussing my capital deployment during the month of May 2021.

Starting off with my retirement account, I deployed $252.00 in capital when factoring in both my 7% contribution and my employer's 3% contribution.

When adjusting for the 3.5% sales charge on both my contributions and my employer's, I put $243.18 to work in May 2021.

The capital contributions made during May 2021 helped my Capital Income Builder (CAIBX) position grow by 3.535 shares from 163.409 shares at the beginning of May to 166.944 shares heading into June.

Using $2.13 in net annual forward dividends/share, my net annual forward dividends advanced $7.53, which works out to a 3.10% net yield.

Moving to my taxable accounts, I started 2 new positions and added to a number of positions during May, including all 3 of the stocks on my May 2021 Dividend Stock Watch List, as well as 1 of the stocks on my April 2021 Dividend Stock Watch List.

I initiated a 6 share position of Abbott Laboratories (ABT) in May 2021 at an average cost of $117.13/share, which was due to the reasons outlined in my May 2021 Dividend Stock Watch List (i.e. a solid balance sheet, favorable earnings outlook, and reasonable valuation).

The $10.80 in net annual forward dividends that I added as a result of this purchase equates to a 1.54% net yield.

Next, I initiated a 3 share position in Microsoft (MSFT) at an average cost of $247.84/share due to Microsoft's flawless credit rating matched only by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Microsoft's numerous growth avenues, and reasonable current valuation for long-term investors such as myself.

MSFT's $6.72 in net annual forward dividends that were added due to the purchase work out to a 0.90% net yield.

The final dividend stock on my watch list for May 2021 that I added to was 1 share of L3Harris Technologies (LHX) at a cost of $216.48 due to the company's recent 20% dividend increase, strong outlook for 2021, and attractive mid-teens non-GAAP P/E ratio for the current year.

The $4.08 in net annual dividends added as a result of the purchase equate to a 1.88% net yield.

I also added 2 shares to my position in American Tower (AMT) at a cost of $247.78/share due to the company's reasonable payout ratios, favorable long-term outlook, and commitment to returning value to shareholders primarily via dividends that grow on a quarterly basis.

AMT's $9.92 in net annual dividends (at the time of the dividend stock purchase as AMT raised its quarterly dividend 2.4% from $1.24/share to $1.27/share shortly after my purchase) work out to a 1.99% net yield.

I added 1 share to my position in CVS Health (CVS) at a cost of $84.50, which equated to a 2.37% net yield when factoring in the $2.00 in net annual forward dividends that were added due to the purchase.

I also added 4 shares to my position in Realty Income (O) at an average cost of $65.10/share, which worked out to a 4.33% net yield when considering the $11.28 in net annual forward dividends that were added as a result of the purchase.

I added 1 share to my position in Viatris (VTRS) at a cost of $16.00, which equated to a 2.75% net yield when factoring in the $0.44 in net annual forward dividends that were added due to the purchase.

I also added 1 share to my position in STORE Capital (STOR) at a cost of $33.59, which was due to my reasons outlined in my June 2021 Dividend Stock Watch List. 

The $1.44 in net annual forward dividends that were added as a result of my purchase work out to a 4.29% net yield.

Since I was impressed by Lowe's (LOW) recent 33.3% increase to its quarterly dividend from $0.60/share to $0.80/share, I added 1 share to my position the day after the dividend increase at a cost of $195.98.

LOW's $3.20 in net annual forward dividends that were added due to my purchase equate to a 1.63% net yield.

I also added 1 share to my Philip Morris International (PM) position at a cost of $97.08 due to reasons discussed in my June 2021 Dividend Stock Watch List.

The $4.80 in net annual forward dividends that were added as a result of my purchase work out to a 4.94% net yield.

Finally, I added 1 share to my General Dynamics (GD) position at a cost of $191.00, which equated to a 2.49% net yield when factoring in the $4.76 in net annual forward dividends that were added due to my purchase.

Concluding Thoughts:

When factoring in the $3,280.08 in net capital that I deployed during May 2021 and the $66.97 in net annual forward dividends that were added as a result of my capital deployment, I deployed capital at an average weighted net yield of 2.04%.

Since June is positioned to be a 2 paycheck month without any additional stimulus anticipated, I am forecasting that June 2021 will be a month in terms of capital deployment within my typical $1,500-$2,000 range.

The $4.20 in dividend increases received during May in combination with the $66.97 in net annual forward dividends added due to my purchase activity, work out to a $71.17 boost in my net annual forward dividends from just over $1,650 at the beginning of May to just over $1,720 heading into June.

Discussion:

How was your May in terms of capital deployment?

Did you add any positions to your portfolio during May as I did with ABT and MSFT?

As always, thank you for reading and I look forward to your comments in the comment section below!