November 2021 Dividend Stock Purchases

As I'm writing this blog post, it's early December. It's hard to believe that less than four weeks are left to this year. But despite the official start of winter being just a couple of weeks away, it has been quite nice here in Central Wisconsin with high temperatures in the mid-30s Fahrenheit.

At any rate, the beginning of a new month is a time for me to look back at the previous month of dividend stock purchases that I executed for my dividend growth portfolio. Let's dig in!

I started off the month by adding two shares to my position in Raytheon Technologies (RTX), which was executed at an average price of $88.55 a share. I added to this holding in my portfolio for the same reasons that the stock was on my watch list in October, which was due to its fair balance sheet, recovering aerospace business, and low payout ratio. These transactions added $4.08 in net annual forward dividends to my portfolio, which works out to a 2.30% dividend yield.

The next stock that I increased my position in during November was WEC Energy Group (WEC), which I purchased a single share of at a cost of $88.80. That's because the stock is one of the smartest stocks investors can buy in light of the company's reasonable payout ratio, mid-single-digit annual earnings growth, and fair valuation. This buy added $2.71 in net annual forward dividends to my portfolio, which equates to a 3.05% yield.

The third stock that I upped my stake in last month was the Dividend King Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), which was a lone share at a price of $165.03. Johnson & Johnson recently raised its earnings guidance for this year, it's the only company alongside Microsoft (MSFT) to possess an unblemished credit rating, and despite these characteristics, the stock trades at a P/E ratio in the mid-teens. Considering that this purchase boosted my net annual forward dividends by $4.24, I was able to secure a 2.57% starting yield on this share of stock.

I also added four shares to my position in the business development company Main Street Capital (MAIN) at an average cost of $45.69 a share. The basic reasoning for this was that MAIN is arguably the best run business in its industry, which is supported by its diversified investment portfolio, its investment-grade credit rating, and solid net asset value per share growth. These transactions advanced my net annual forward dividends by $10.32, which works out to a 5.65% yield.

I increased my stake in Omnicom (OMC) by two shares at an average price of $68.78 per share. My rationale for doing so remains unchanged from when OMC appeared on my watch list for October, which is that the company is rebounding from COVID, the balance sheet is decent, and the stock is attractively valued. These buys added $5.60 to my net annual forward dividends, which equates to a 4.07% yield.

The first stock that I opened a position in during the month was the semiconductor Texas Instruments (TXN), which was really because I wanted another semiconductor in my portfolio alongside Broadcom (AVGO). TXN is a solid dividend growth stock with a great track record, which is why I purchased three shares of the stock at an average cost per share of $189.19. These transactions boosted my net annual forward dividends by $13.80, which is a 2.43% net yield.

The second stock that I began a stake in last month was the communications infrastructure REIT Crown Castle (CCI), which is because I wanted a high-quality company to play the megatrend of growing data consumption. CCI isn't cheap, but it also isn't unreasonably expensive. That's why I added three shares of the stock to my portfolio at an average price per share of $182.57. These purchases increased my net annual forward dividends by $17.64, which works out to a 3.22% yield. 

The final stock that I opened a position in during the month was American Water Works (AWK). I outlined the reasons for why I want to own the stock in my December 2021 dividend stock watch list post, which include the incredibly low payout ratio for a water utility, above-average growth prospects, and a firmly investment-grade credit rating. I bought three shares of the stock at an average cost of $172.23 a share and plan to add more in the near future. These buys added $7.23 to my portfolio's net annual forward dividends, which equates to a 1.40% yield.

I added a share to my position in Cummins (CMI) at a cost of $219.20. I would advise those interested in my rationale to check out my recent Seeking Alpha article on the stock. This transaction boosted my net annual forward dividends by $5.80, which works out to a 2.65% yield.

For the first time in nearly three years, I made the decision to sell a stock I had purchased a couple of years prior. That stock was the private prison operator GEO Group (GEO), which slashed its dividend a couple of times before ultimately suspending its dividend earlier this year. This was a classic case of a dividend yield that was too good to be true, which was in the low-double digits when I made my initial purchases in August 2019. It was a transaction I should have never executed in hindsight, but live and learn.

This transaction is what allowed me to add two shares of British American Tobacco (BTI) to my Webull portfolio at an average price per share of $34.07. Given the $5.94 in net annual forward dividends added to my portfolio, this works out to an 8.72% yield.

Concluding Thoughts:

I deployed $2,670.53 in capital last month (including the $132.68 in funds raised from the sale of GEO within my Robinhood and Webull accounts). This is the fifth straight month that I deployed over $2,000 in capital. Considering the $77.36 in net annual forward dividends that I added to my portfolio during the month via purchases, this equates to a 2.90% net yield.

When also adding in the $11.92 increase in net annual forward dividends via dividend increases, my net annual forward dividends have advanced from over $2,115 at the start of November to more than $2,205 heading into December.

Discussion:

How was your November 2021 for capital deployment?

Did you open any new positions in your portfolio like I did with AWK, CCI, and TXN?

As always, thanks for reading and I look forward to reading your comments below!