April 2024 Dividend Stock Purchases

As I'm writing this blog post on Friday, April 26th, it is currently 60 degrees Fahrenheit and raining. After showers earlier in the week as well, this should help to green up that grass!

Now that April is nearly concluded, I will turn my attention to the dividend stock purchases that I executed during the month.

Dividend Stock Purchase #1: PepsiCo (PEP)

In alphabetical order, my first dividend stock purchase this month was an additional seven shares of PepsiCo (PEP) at an average cost of $168.47 a share. This was a $38.22 boost to my net annual forward dividends, which equates to a 3.24% net dividend yield.

As I noted in my April 2024 Dividend Stock Watch List blog post, interested readers can check out last September's Seeking Alpha article for my investment thesis.

Dividend Stock Purchase #2: Starbucks (SBUX)

My next dividend stock purchase for the month was 13 shares of Starbucks (SBUX) at an average price per share of $85.98. This purchase lifted my net annual forward dividends by $29.64, which works out to a 2.65% net yield.

Readers who want to learn more about my investment thesis for SBUX can check out the April 2024 Dividend Stock Watch List blog post that I linked to earlier.

Dividend Stock Purchase #3: UnitedHealth Group (UNH)

My final dividend stock purchase during April was two shares of UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at an average cost of $451.14 a share. This transaction increased my net annual forward dividends by $15.04, which is equivalent to a 1.67% net dividend yield.

For my investment thesis, readers can peruse my February Seeking Alpha article.

Concluding Thoughts:

I put $3,199.31 of capital to work in April. Against the $82.90 in net annual forward dividends, that is a 2.59% weighted average net dividend yield.

Combined with the $19.88 in dividend increases/initiated dividends for the month, my net annual forward dividends climbed from around $4,480 to approximately $4,580 to conclude April.

Discussion:

How was your capital deployment for April 2024?

Did you open any new positions?

I appreciate your readership and welcome your comments below!

Expected Dividend Increases For May 2024

As I'm writing this blog post on Friday, April 19th, it is currently 45 degrees Fahrenheit here in Central Wisconsin. For this time of the year, that's a bit on the chilly side. But the good news is that a warming trend is right around the corner, with temperatures expected to reach into the 60s by early next week.

With that aside, I will discuss the dividend increases that I have received thus far in April. At this time, there are still three dividend raises that I'm waiting for yet and still expect. As they come in next week, I will update this blog post accordingly. Also, I will go over the payout hikes that I'm expecting for next month.

Actual Dividend Increases For April 2024

Dividend Increase #1: Agree Realty (ADC)

Agree Realty announced a 1.2% raise in its monthly dividend per share to $0.25. Across my 20 shares of ADC, my net annual forward dividends grew by $0.72 due to this dividend announcement. As I will outline in next week's blog post, this was my first raise from ADC as I just opened a position last month.

Dividend Increase #2: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson declared a 4.2% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.24. This was below my expectation of a 5.9% bump to $1.26.

My net annual forward dividends rose by $1 across my five shares of JNJ as a result of this dividend declaration.

Dividend Increase #3: Tanger Inc. (SKT)

Tanger Inc. announced a 5.8% lift in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.275, which was what I anticipated.

Across my 11 shares of SKT, my net annual forward dividends climbed by $0.66 due to this dividend announcement.

Pending Increases: Energy Transfer (ET), International Business Machines (IBM), and Southern Company (SO)

These companies haven't yet announced their dividends/distributions, but here is what I am expecting from my previous post of the series for each:

ET: 0.8% raise to $0.3175, which would be an $0.86 lift to my net annual forward dividends across my 86 units.

UPDATE: 

As anticipated, ET declared a 0.8% raise in its quarterly distribution per unit to $0.3175. This lifted my net annual forward distributions by $0.86 across my 86 units.

IBM: 0.6% increase to $1.67, which would be an additional $0.24 in net annual forward dividends across my six shares.

UPDATE: 

As expected, IBM upped the quarterly dividend per share by 0.6% to $1.67.

SO: 2.9% increase to $0.72, which would be an additional $0.40 in net annual forward dividends across my five shares.

UPDATE:

As I expected, SO announced a 2.9% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.72. This was a $0.40 lift to my net annual forward dividends.

Surprise Announcement: Alphabet (GOOGL)

GOOGL initiated a $0.20 quarterly dividend per share. This boosted my net annual forward dividends by $16 across my 20 shares of GOOGL.

Expected Dividend Increases For May 2024

Expected Dividend Increase #1: Lowe's (LOW)

The first dividend increase that I'm expecting for May that hasn't already happened will be from Lowe's. My best guess is that LOW will raise the quarterly dividend per share by 4.5% to $1.15.

Across my 10 shares of LOW, my net annual forward dividends would rise by $2 from such an announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #2: Main Street Capital (MAIN)

The second raise that I believe will happen next month that hasn't been declared yet will come from Main Street Capital. I believe that MAIN will declare a 2.1% increase in its monthly dividend per share to $0.245.

My net annual forward dividends would grow by $1.80 across my 30 shares of MAIN due to such a declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #3: Medtronic (MDT)

The next dividend bump that I'm projecting for May that has yet to be announced will be from Medtronic. My prediction is that MDT will increase the quarterly dividend per share by 1.4% to $0.70.

Across my 13 shares of MDT, my net annual forward dividends would rise by $0.52 from such an announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #4: Simon Property Group (SPG)

The final dividend raise that I'm expecting for next month that hasn't been announced to date will come from Simon Property Group. My best guess is that SPG will up the quarterly dividend per share by 2.6% to $2.

My net annual forward dividends would grow by $1.80 across my nine shares of SPG due to such a declaration.

Dividend Increase #1: RTX Corp (RTX)

RTX announced a 6.8% raise in it quarterly dividend per share to $0.63, which was what I anticipated.

Across my 12 shares, this lifted my net annual forward dividends by $1.92.

Dividend Increase #2: American Water Works (AWK)

AWK declared an 8.1% boost in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.765, which was in line with my prediction.

This was a $0.92 boost to my net annual forward dividends across my four shares of AWK.

Concluding Thoughts:

The six dividend raises and one dividend initiation that I received in April amount to a $19.88 lift to my net annual forward dividends. At a 3% dividend yield, this would be equivalent to investing $662.67 in fresh capital.

The two raises in May thus far and four that I'm still expecting could be an $8.96 boost to my net annual forward dividends. This would be like investing $298.67 in fresh capital at a 3% average dividend yield.

Discussion:

How was your April for dividend raises?

Did you receive any first-time payout boosts as I did with ADC or first-time payouts like I did with GOOGL?

Thank you for reading and please feel free to comment below!

May 2024 Dividend Stock Watch List

As I'm writing this blog post on Saturday, April 6th, the temperature here in Central Wisconsin is expected to reach a high of 54 degrees Fahrenheit. Needless to say, that's quite nice for this time of year.

Without further ado, I will be sharing three of the dividend stocks at the top of my watch list for May 2024.

Image Source: Pexels

Dividend Stock #1: Brookfield Asset Management (BAM)

The first stock on my watch list for next month is Brookfield Asset Management (BAM). Since my previous Seeking Alpha article in February, my investment thesis is unchanged.

Simply put, BAM is a proven and leading player in the growing alternative asset management industry. This should position the company for continued double-digit annual distributable EPS growth in the years ahead. As a bonus, the balance sheet is A-rated and arguably robust. BAM isn't a bargain at the current $41 share price (as of April 6, 2024), but it's trading close to fair value. For a company of its quality, this makes it an interesting buy to me. Thus, I'm considering upping my weighting from 1% to almost 2% next month.

Dividend Stock #2: McDonald's (MCD)

The next stock on my watch list for May 2024 is McDonald's (MCD). The investment thesis for MCD is the same as it was last month when I covered the stock for The Dividend Kings and iREIT on Alpha (fair warning, it's behind a paywall).

Basically, McDonald's loyalty program continued to grow in Q4 to over 150 million 90-day active users. The company thinks that it can grow to 250 million active users by 2027, which could provide even more stability and growth to its revenue/earnings base. The 2.5% payout is well-covered by free cash flow and shares are a solid value in my opinion at the current $267 price (as of April 6, 2024). That's why I am seriously considering doubling up my position next month to a nearly 1.5% weighting.

Dividend Stock #3: NextEra Energy (NEE)

The third and final stock on my watch list for next month is NextEra Energy (NEE). My investment thesis for NEE is similar to when I last covered it in January on Seeking Alpha.

Essentially, NEE has a track record of steady earnings growth and is a Dividend Aristocrat that has handed out 10% dividend hikes in recent years. The payout also appears to be quite sustainable. Lastly, the valuation could be interesting at the current $64 share price (as of April 6, 2024). This is why I'm interested in boosting my weighting from 0.7% to around 1.5% in May.

Concluding Thoughts:

Voila! Another watch list and another trio of world-class dividend growth stocks in my view. Barring massive rallies, I'm looking forward to increasing my stakes in these three great businesses next month.

Discussion:

Are any of BAM, MCD, or NEE on your watch list for May 2024?

If not, what stocks are on your radar for next month?

I appreciate your readership and welcome your comments below!

March 2024 Dividend Income

As I'm writing this blog post, it's April 3rd. My paternal grandma is officially 86 years old today! After a relatively warm March, the weather has cooled off in recent days to start April here in Central Wisconsin. The temperature today is 34 degrees Fahrenheit and the ground is covered with a few inches of snow.

I'm not complaining, though. We have had limited snowfall so far this season and not much rain, either. So, I'll take precipitation however we can get it for the grass to get greened up.

Now that March is in the books, I will take a look at my dividend income for the month.

Nearing A Major Milestone For The Portfolio

In March 2024, I received $476.12 in net dividends (adjusting for ADR fees on BP dividends and withholdings on BAM dividends). Against the $529.78 in net dividends that I collected in December 2023, that's a -10.1% quarterly growth rate. Factoring out $81.26 in special dividends received from CAIBX (net of the $10 annual fee), my net dividend income was up 6.2%.

Compared to the $392.62 in net dividends that I collected in March 2023, this is a 21.3% year-over-year growth rate.

My residual Robinhood net dividends and Charles Schwab net dividends totaled $372.66 from 47 companies. This was driven by dividend raises announced in December, January, and February. The timing of an $8.15 dividend payment from United Parcel Service (UPS) also played a role in the income derived within these accounts.

I received $85.96 in regular net dividends from my Capital Income Builder or CAIBX mutual fund within my retirement account. That was due to a raise in the quarterly dividend per share and a higher share count from dividend reinvestment.

My net dividends collected in my Webull account from six companies were $16.97. This was the result of Prudential Financial's (PRU) 4% raise in the quarterly dividend per share announced in February.

In my M1 Finance account, the timing of UPS' dividend payment offset the timing of Fastenal's (FAST) dividend payment. Along with an extra $0.01 each from Aflac (AFL), Amgen (AMGN), and NextEra Energy (NEE) stemming from recent dividend hikes, this is how my net dividends were $0.53 from 22 companies.

Concluding Thoughts:

My portfolio is edging closer to generating $500 in monthly net dividends for the months of March, June, and September, as I surpassed $500 in December with special dividends from my CAIBX holding included. Overall, I hope to be blessed enough to continue this journey in the months and years that lie ahead. After years of hard work and (mostly) diligent capital deployment, it's starting to pay off!

Discussion:

How was your dividend income in March 2024?

Did you collect any special dividends or first-time dividends during the month?

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment below!

March 2024 Dividend Stock Purchases

As I'm writing this blog post, it's Wednesday, March 27th. The high temperature is expected to reach 34 degrees Fahrenheit here in Central Wisconsin today. Good Friday and Easter weekend are shaping up to be very warm, with the high temperatures reaching into the 50s. So, it will be a great time to for me to spend time with family, praise my Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and get outside!

Now that there is just one trading day left in the month, it is time to discuss my dividend stock purchases for March 2024.

Dividend Stock Purchase #1: Automatic Data Processing (ADP)

I started off my purchases today and for this month by purchasing four more shares of Automatic Data Processing (ADP) at an average price per share of $247.72. The $22.40 that this transaction added to my portfolio's net annual forward dividends was equivalent to a 2.26% net dividend yield.

Interested readers can check out a link to my buying rationale in my March 2024 Dividend Stock Watch List blog post.

Dividend Stock Purchase #2: Agree Realty (ADC)

Next, I opened a 20 share position in Agree Realty (ADC) at an average cost of $56.55 apiece. The $59.28 in net annual forward dividends that this purchase added to my portfolio worked out to a 5.24% net dividend yield.

Similar to ADP, readers can find a link to my investment thesis for ADC in the March 2024 Dividend Stock Watch List blog post that I noted earlier.

Dividend Stock Purchase #3: Enbridge (ENB)

Finally, I started a 31 share position in Enbridge (ENB) at an average cost of $35.82 each. This transaction lifted my net annual forward dividends by $83.70, which equated to a 7.54% net dividend yield.

Like ADP and ADC, a link to my buying explanation for ENB can also be found in the March 2024 Dividend Stock Watch List blog post.

Concluding Thoughts:

After seven months of not deploying fresh capital to shore up my emergency fund, I deployed $3,232.17 in capital in March 2024. Compared to the $165.38 in net annual forward dividends added by these purchases, that's a 5.12% weighted average net dividend yield.

Along with $14.184 in dividend increases during the month, my net annual forward dividends grew to nearly $4,480 heading into April.

Discussion:

How was your capital deployment in March 2024?

Did you open any new positions as I did with ADC and ENB?

Please feel free to comment below and I hope everyone has/had a blessed Easter!