November 2022 Dividend Stock Purchases

As I'm writing this blog post, it's November 25th. The high temperature for today is expected to reach 41 degrees Fahrenheit here in Central Wisconsin. And tomorrow will top 49 degrees Fahrenheit. Needless to say, I'm thrilled with these temperatures for this time of the year.

Aside from the weather, the time of the month means that I am done with my dividend stock purchases for the month of November 2022. Therefore, I will be going over the purchases that I made this month.

I started off the month of November by adding 1.5 shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) to my portfolio at an average cost per share of $85.88. As I indicated a couple of posts ago in this series, I like GOOGL for its strong market share in digital advertising. And I eventually believe that GOOGL will be a legendary dividend payer.

My first and only stock sale during the month was when I closed my 33 share position in STORE Capital (STOR) across my Robinhood and Webull accounts. This brought in $1,046.05 of capital proceeds, but I lost $54.12 in net annual forward dividends from the sale. It's really a shame that STOR will be sold to Oak Street because it's a classic example of a buy and hold business.

With the proceeds from my sale of STOR, I opened a 20 share position in Spirit Realty Capital (SRC) at a cost of $37.77 a share. This transaction added $53.04 to my net annual forward dividends, which works out to a net dividend yield of 7.02%. I was drawn to SRC because it is a fairly comparable business relative to STOR in terms of quality. The high-yield is well covered and I believe the dividend will grow in the mid-single-digits annually over the long haul.

I also used the proceeds from my sale of STOR to add 21 shares to my stake in Medical Properties Trust (MPW) at an average cost per share of $11.00. This purchase boosted my net annual forward dividends by $24.16, which is equivalent to a 10.46% weighted average dividend yield. MPW was on my November 2022 watch list because of its well-covered and high-yielding dividend and cheap valuation.

My next purchase was 1.5 shares of Amazon (AMZN) at a cost per share of $90.90. Similar to GOOGL, I believe that AMZN's dominance in cloud computing and e-commerce will eventually lead to a generous dividend policy from the company.

I added two shares of Microsoft (MSFT) to my portfolio at an average cost of $239.38 a share. This transaction bumped up my net annual forward dividends by $5.44, which is a 1.14% net dividend yield. As I explained in my November 2022 dividend stock watch list post, MSFT is a wonderful growth stock trading at a fair valuation. This was the logic behind my purchase decision.

My final dividend stock purchase of the month was four shares of Realty Income (O) at a cost per share of $64.54. As was the case with MPW and MSFT, O was on my watch list for the month. This transaction increased my net annual forward dividends by $11.904, which equates to a 4.61% dividend yield.

Concluding Thoughts:

Factoring out my sale of STOR, I deployed $942.42 in capital during November 2022. Given the $40.424 in net annual forward dividends that I added through purchases for the month, the weighted average dividend yield on my investments was 4.29%.

Discussion:

How was your November 2022 for capital deployment?

Did you close any positions during the month as I did with STOR? Did you open any new positions as I did with SRC?

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment below!

Expected Dividend Increases for December 2022

As I'm writing this blog post, it's already November 19th. The temperatures have really cooled off here in Central Wisconsin, with the high temperature reaching just 20 degrees Fahrenheit today. But in the next few days, we will see high temperatures in the upper-30 degrees Fahrenheit range.

With all dividend raises, I will turn my attention to the dividend increases received this month. And I'll look ahead to the dividend boosts that I'm expecting for December 2022.

Actual Dividend Increases for November 2022

Dividend Increase #1: Main Street Capital (MAIN)

Main Street Capital announced a 2.3% increase in its monthly dividend per share to $0.225. For context, this was precisely what I predicted in the previous post of this series.

This boosted my net annual forward dividends by $1.44 across my 24 shares of MAIN.

Dividend Increase #2: Simon Property Group (SPG)

Simon Property Group declared a 2.9% raise its quarterly dividend per share to $1.80. Again, this was in line with my forecast. 

Across my nine shares of SPG, my net annual forward dividends surged $1.80 higher from this dividend declaration.

Dividend Increase #3: KeyCorp (KEY)

KeyCorp announced a 5.1% hike in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.205, which was what I projected.

My net annual forward dividends increased by $1.56 across my 39 shares of KEY due to this dividend announcement.

Dividend Increase #4: Aflac (AFL)

Aflac declared a 5% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.42. This was just below my expectation of a 7.5% increase in the quarterly dividend per share to $0.43.

Across my 11 shares of AFL, my net annual forward dividends edged $0.88 higher as a result of this dividend declaration.

Dividend Increase #5: Merck (MRK)

Merck declared a 5.8% hike in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.73, which was what I expected.

Across my 11 shares of MRK, my net annual forward dividends rose by $1.76.

Expected Dividend Increases for December 2022

Expected Dividend Increase #1: Union Pacific (UNP)

The first dividend hike that I am expecting in December is from Union Pacific. I believe that UNP will announce a 7.7% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.40. This would be good enough once a year, but UNP has a track record of delivering two raises annually in most years.

My net annual forward dividends would be boosted by $1.20 across my three shares of UNP if this prediction pans out.

Expected Dividend Increase #2: Abbott Laboratories (ABT)

The next payout increase that I'm projecting will come from Abbott Laboratories. My best guess is that ABT will declare a 6.4% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.50.

Across my six shares of ABT, my net annual forward dividends would inch $0.72 higher if this forecast is proven correct.

Expected Dividend Increase #3: Amgen (AMGN)

The third dividend boost that I am expecting in December is from Amgen. I believe that AMGN will announce an 8.2% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $2.10.

My net annual forward dividends would be lifted by $2.56 across my four shares of AMGN if this prediction is accurate.

Expected Dividend Increase #4: American Tower (AMT)

The next dividend increase that I'm anticipating will come from American Tower. My belief is that AMT will declare a 4.8% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.54. With typically four hikes in a year, this would be a solid growth rate.

Across my three shares of AMT, my net annual forward dividends would move $0.84 higher if this forecast is right.

Expected Dividend Increase #5: Broadcom (AVGO)

The fifth dividend raise that I am expecting in December is from Broadcom. I believe that AVGO will announce a 12.2% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $4.60.

My net annual forward dividends would be boosted by $6.00 across my three shares of AVGO if this prediction is correct.

Expected Dividend Increase #6: Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY)

The next dividend increase that I'm projecting will come from Bristol Myers Squibb. My best guess is that BMY will declare a 7.4% hike in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.58.

Across my 15 shares of BMY, my net annual forward dividends would surge $2.40 higher from such a declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #7: CVS Health (CVS)

The seventh payout raise that I am expecting in December is from CVS Health. I believe that CVS will announce a 7.3% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.59.

My net annual forward dividends would increase by $1.12 across my seven shares of CVS from such an announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #8: Dominion Energy (D)

The next dividend hike that I'm anticipating will come from Dominion Energy. My belief is that D will declare a 6% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.7075.

Across my six shares of D, my net annual forward dividends would be lifted $0.96 higher from such a declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #9: Eastman Chemical (EMN)

The ninth dividend raise that I am projecting in December is from Eastman Chemical. My best guess is that EMN will announce a 6.6% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.81.

My net annual forward dividends would surge $1.40 higher across my seven shares of EMN from such an announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #10: Realty Income (O)

Realty Income kept its monthly dividend per share in line with the previous payout of $0.248. This was below my expectation of a 4% raise to $0.258. But I believe this was more an issue of timing than anything and that my prediction will come to fruition next month.

Across my 17 shares of O, this would be a $2.04 lift to my net annual forward dividends, if my forecast is correct.

Expected Dividend Increase #11: Pfizer (PFE)

The eleventh dividend hike that I am expecting in December will come from Pfizer. I believe that PFE will declare a 7.5% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.43.

My net annual forward dividends would be boosted by $2.04 across my 17 shares of PFE from such a declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #12: WEC Energy Group (WEC)

The next dividend increase that I'm projecting is from WEC Energy Group. My belief is that WEC will announce a 6.9% hike in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.7775.

Across my eight shares of WEC, my net annual forward dividends would be lifted by $1.60 from such an announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #13: W.P. Carey (WPC)

The thirteenth and final payout raise that I am expecting in December will come from W.P. Carey. My best guess is that WPC will declare a 0.2% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.063.

My net annual forward dividends would edge $0.056 higher across my seven shares from such a declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #14: Mastercard (MA)

Mastercard didn't announce a dividend hike in November. However, I am reiterating my projection for a 12.2% lift to the quarterly dividend per share to $0.55.

My net annual forward dividends would increase by $0.72 from such an announcement across my three shares of MA.

Concluding Thoughts:

The five dividend raises that I received in November have lifted my net annual forward dividends by $7.44. This equates to investing $212.57 in fresh capital at a 3.5% weighted average dividend yield.

And the fourteen dividend hikes that I am expecting in December 2022 would raise my net annual forward dividends by $23.656, if proven correct. This works out to investing $675.89 in fresh capital at a 3.5% net dividend yield. As the months and years unfold, the power of compounding is working more and more in my favor. Needless to say, I feel very blessed to have started investing as early as I did!

Discussion:

How was your November 2022 for payout increases?

Are you expecting any first-time dividend hikes next month as I am with UNP?

Thank you for reading! Please leave your comments below.

December 2022 Dividend Stock Watch List

As I'm writing this blog post on November 12th, the high temperature is expected to reach just 33 degrees Fahrenheit today here in Central Wisconsin. This is a bit below the average high temperature for this time of the year. The dip in temperature means that over the next few months, I will largely have to exercise indoors.

Given that it is now the middle of the month, December is right around the corner. With that in mind, I will be going over three stocks that I will be buying next month, absent huge rallies in the weeks ahead.

Image Source: Pexels

Dividend Stock #1: Tractor Supply (TSCO)

The leading rural lifestyle retailer, Tractor Supply (TSCO), is the first stock on my watch list for December. For more details on why TSCO is an appealing buy for dividend growth investors, interested readers can check out my recent Motley Fool article on the stock.

But it basically comes down to a few key points. First, TSCO's customer base is growing as more individuals consider moving from urban areas to small towns or rural areas. Second, the market-beating 1.8% dividend yield is also well-covered. Third and finally, TSCO is reasonably valued at the current $209 share price (as of November 12, 2022).

Dividend Stock #2: FedEx (FDX)

The second dividend stock on my watch list for next month is the logistics giant, FedEx (FDX). My investment thesis for FDX remains unchanged from a few months ago when I wrote about the stock (as well as Bristol-Myers Squibb and British American Tobacco) in a Motley Fool article.

As more consumers turn to e-commerce for convenience, more packages will need to be shipped. And as a leading package delivery company, FDX will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this increased demand. Along with a low dividend payout ratio, this positions FDX well to be a great dividend growth stock. And the valuation is especially compelling at the current $176 share price (as of November 12, 2022).

Dividend Stock #3: Union Pacific (UNP)

The final dividend stock on my watch list for December is the railroad operator, Union Pacific (UNP). The investment thesis for UNP is the same as it was back in July when I last covered it (and UnitedHealth Group) in a Motley Fool article.

For the past two hundred years, railroads have been the backbone of the U.S. economy. And there's little reason to believe that will change anytime soon. Union Pacific's status as a leading railroad operator and its low payout ratio should translate into solid dividend growth in the years to come. Best of all, the stock's market-beating 2.4% dividend yield comes at a sensible valuation at the current $218 share price (as of November 12, 2022).

Concluding Thoughts:

November will be over in the blink of an eye. And we will be in the final month of 2022. I look forward to yet another month of adding to my ownership in quality businesses!

Discussion:

Are any of TSCO, FDX, and/or UNP on your watch list for next month?

If not, what stocks are you considering for December 2022?

As always, I appreciate your readership. Please leave your comments below!

October 2022 Dividend Income

As I'm writing this blog post on Saturday, November 5, it is currently just 40 degrees Fahrenheit and raining. Over the next few days, temperatures here in Central Wisconsin will only reach into the low-50 degrees Fahrenheit. But at least that is meaningfully higher than the 40 degrees Fahrenheit average high for November.

Now that October 2022 is in the books, it is time to take a look at my net dividend income for the month. Spoiler alert: It was yet another record for the first month of the quarter.

I collected $204.57 in net dividends during October 2022. This equates to a 16.2% growth rate over the $176.10 in net dividends received in July 2022.

Compared to the $114.59 in net dividends that I collected in October 2021, this works out to a 78.5% year-over-year growth rate.

Digging deeper, I received $193.69 in net dividends from 27 stocks within my Robinhood portfolio. I also collected $10.71 in net dividends from five stocks in my Webull account. Finally, I received $0.17 in net dividends from eight stocks within my M1 Finance portfolio.

My net dividends were lifted by $28.47 from July 2022 to October 2022, which was the result of the following activity across my accounts:

I received an extra $6.02 in net dividends from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) in my Robinhood and M1 Finance portfolios, which was due to the timing of the dividend payment. This is because it is always paid at the end of the first month, but sometimes isn't reflected in my brokerage account until the day after.

My net dividends collected from American Tower (AMT) increased by $0.12 within my Robinhood account, which was the result of the 2.8% dividend increase in the quarterly dividend per share announced in September.

I received an additional $0.26 in net dividends from U.S. Bancorp (USB) in my Robinhood portfolio. That was due to the 4.3% bump in the quarterly dividend per share declared back in September.

My net dividends collected from STORE Capital (STOR) were $0.82 higher within my Robinhood and Webull accounts, which was the result a 6.5% hike in the quarterly dividend per share in September.

I received an extra $0.02 in net dividends from W.P. Carey (WPC) in my Robinhood portfolio. This was due to the 0.2% increase in the quarterly dividend per share back in September.

My net dividends collected from Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR) were $0.30 more than the prior quarter within my Robinhood account, which was the result of a 2.9% bump in the quarterly dividend per share.

I received an additional $0.12 in net dividends from Main Street Capital (MAIN) in my Robinhood portfolio. This was due to the 2.3% increase in its monthly dividend per share in August.

My net dividends collected from Philip Morris International were $4.07 higher than in the previous quarter within my Robinhood and Webull accounts. This was the result of a 1.6% raise in the quarterly dividend per share back in September and my purchase of three more shares during that month.

I received an extra $6.36 in net dividends from Altria Group (MO) in my Robinhood and Webull portfolios. This was due to a 4.4% increase in the quarterly dividend per share in August and my purchase of six shares back in June after the ex-dividend date.

My net dividends collected from Merck (MRK) were $2.07 higher within my Robinhood account, which was the result of my purchase of three more shares in July.

I received an additional $1.34 in net dividends from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in my Robinhood portfolio. This was due to the purchase of six more shares in June.

My net dividends collected from VICI Properties (VICI) were $3.87 more than in the prior quarter within my Robinhood account, which was the result of the dividend hike in September and my purchase of eight more shares in July.

I received an extra $3.10 in net dividends from Iron Mountain (IRM) in my Robinhood and Webull portfolios. This was due to my purchase of five more shares back in July.

Concluding Thoughts:

October was the first time that I surpassed $200 in net dividend income in what have always been my weakest months of the year (i.e., January, April, July, and October). I'm looking forward to continuing to receive dividend raises from my portfolio and to add to my holdings to keep my net dividends moving higher over time!

Discussion:

How did your dividend income fare in October 2022?

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

Thanks for reading. I look forward to your comments below!

October 2022 Dividend Stock Purchases

As I'm writing this blog post on Oct. 28, the temperature is expected to reach a high of 61 degrees Fahrenheit here in Central Wisconsin. And the weather will be just as warm over the next few days. That's why I plan on definitely getting outside this weekend!

Weather aside, I have made all of the dividend stock purchases that I plan on making for this month. Thus, I will be detailing my dividend stock purchases for the month of October 2022.

As I did in September and in the months prior, I added to my position in the non-dividend stock, Amazon (AMZN). I purchased a single share of the stock at a cost of $115.04.

I also boosted my stake in the other non-dividend stock in my portfolio, which is Alphabet (GOOGL). I acquired another 1.5 shares in GOOGL at an average cost of $97.39 a share.

My first dividend stock purchase during the month was 21 shares of STAG Industrial (STAG) at an average price per share of $29.70. As I alluded to in my October 2022 Dividend Stock Watch List post, STAG is a high-yielding real estate investment trust with a safe dividend. The company also is steadily growing and trading at a cheap valuation. This dividend stock purchase added $30.66 to my net annual forward dividend income, which equates to a 4.87% net dividend yield.

My only sale for the month was 15 shares of Haleon (HLN) at an average price of $6.12 a share. HLN is the consumer health division that was recently spun-off from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which will eventually pay out 30% to 50% of its profits via a dividend. While the company has a solid brand portfolio, I feel as though I already have a strong enough bench of consumer staples.

My next dividend stock purchase during October was three shares of Medifast (MED) at an average cost per share of $118.30. Like STAG, this was also on my watch list for the month. The $19.68 boost in net annual forward dividends by this transaction is equivalent to a 5.55% weighted average yield.

The third and final dividend stock purchase was Comcast (CMCSA), which was also on my watch list for October. I added eight shares of the stock to my portfolio at an average cost of $33.84 a share. This buy added $8.64 in net annual forward dividends to my portfolio, which works out to a 3.19% net dividend yield.

Concluding Thoughts:

Excluding my sale of HLN, I deployed $1,418.62 of capital during the month. This equates to a weighted average net yield of 4.16%.

I also received a $25.12 boost in annual net forward dividends via dividend increases during the month. My net annual forward dividends surged from just over $3,175 heading into the month to just over $3,260 by the end of the month.

Discussion:

How was your capital deployment for the month?

Did you open any new positions in October 2022 as I did with my purchase of STAG?

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to comment below!