Thanksgiving is behind us and we are quickly racing towards Christmas and Hanukkah. It has truly been a pleasure watching my wife experience the holidays for the first time with our daughter. I wish I could describe the feeling more, but all I know is that I am loving every second of the experience. With another month behind us, it is time to once again review the results and see how our dividend income stacks up against last year. Let’s dive into our November dividend income summary.
Dividend Investing is amazing for so many reasons. As we continue to build a growing, passive income stream by investing in undervalued dividend growth stocks identified by our dividend stock screener, it is always important to track your progress and make sure you are achieving your goals. Seeing the progress makes the income feel real. And eventually, one day, it will help you reach the coveted financial freedom.
See – Our Dividend Stock Screener
See – Our Dividend Income Summaries
For the last five years, we have logged out dividend income results. The totals are summarized on our dividend income page. You can see first hand the results that each dividend stock purchase, dividend increases, and each reinvested dividend has had. We continue to fuel the FI/RE one purchase, one increase, and one DRIP at a time. So that is why I am always so excited to type up my monthly dividend income summary. To review the results and hold myself accountable. With that in mind, here is my October dividend income summary.
See – Our Dividend Stock Portfolios to view my individual holdings
Bert’s November Dividend Income Summary
In November, my wife and I earned $506.19 in dividend income! That is a 24.46% increase compared to last November. The following chart details the individual dividends received:
Here are some thoughts and highlights from the month above:
- A huge drive of the increase were investments in ABBV and additional investments in AT&T and CVS last year. It is now starting to hit me just how much capital I was able to add last year.
- We added Delta to my wife’s portfolio in October. Luckily, the purchase was made before the ex-dividend date and she was able to capture the DAL dividend this quarter!
- We continue receiving monthly dividends from our idle cash in our Fidelity brokerage accounts. That has been the most pleasant surprise resulting from our brokerage trade (not considering free trades, of course :))
- I had to highlight this as an HCP shareholder. But the company changed their name from HCP Inc. to Healthpeak Properties. Their new ticker is PEAK. I’m not sure what the name change will do in the long run. In the end, I’d rather the company focus on ways to increase their dividend once again.
- We had a slight decrease due to a timing difference in the WRK dividend. Last year it paid in November, this year it pays in December.
Bert’s November Dividend Stock Portfolio Update
After announcing that our portfolio crossed a major investing milestone last month, I am trying to continue pushing forward in my quest towards financial freedom. Mr. Market is making this task very difficult for us, however, due to the steady increases in stock prices. But in November, I was able to make some incremental stock purchases and receive a handful of dividend increases. In this section, I will summarize the dividend increases received from both.
Read: Milestone Achieved – Crossing $10,000 in Projected Dividend Income
On the stock purchase front, I was able to take advantage of free trades and make several small purchases during the month. Stock purchases and 401(k) investments added $128.49 in dividend income this month. The following table summarizes the stock purchases and discloses the additional dividend income received from each position.
The largest purchase was Occidental Petroleum (OXY). We all know the story there. Like so many other dividend growth investors, I purchased shares of OXY prior to the acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum. The high purchase price and additional debt has caused the price of the company to fall significantly from previous highs. My initial purchase of OXY was only 34 shares. Overall, it was not that large of a holding in my portfolio. Staring a large unrealized loss in the face, I decided to purchase an additional 15 shares and reduce my investment’s cost basis. Now, I am comfortable with my 49 shares of the company and the dividend that investment is producing.
See: Bert’s Dividend Stock Portfolio
The other purchases were smaller in nature. I laugh at the 1 share purchase of Pfizer. I had just enough cash in my Roth IRA to buy 1 share of the company. Thanks to free trades, I was able to make that happen. There is one new holding in our portfolio now: Smuckers (SJM). Every time the company’s stock price falls near $100 per share or lower, I start to contemplate initiating a position. After their last earnings release, the company’s price fell in the $104 – $105 per share range. To me, that was close enough to initiate a position since the metrics were right. I’ll discuss this more in a detailed purchase post. But I’m happy that I was able to add and I look forward to continuing building my position in the company.
Next, onto dividend increases. November was an eventful month for dividend increases. Not just for my stock portfolio, but for the many companies that decided to announce a dividend increase! Looks like we are heading into 2020 with a full head of steam. The table below shows the dividend increases I received. In total, dividend increases added $27.09 in dividend increases to my forward dividend income.
The largest of the dividend increases was obviously ABBV. We were all happy to receive a 10% increase, especially after their acquisition announcement this year. But there were several surprises I was not anticipating. I was very excited when Lanny informed me via text that First Energy increased their dividend. Then, it was made even better by the announcement from two of my community bank holdings. The dividend increases may not seem like a lot But I did not have to even lift a finger to see my annual income increase $27. How sweet is that?
Read – 7 Expected Dividend Increases in December
Summary
While my dividend growth rate slowed compared to previous months, I couldn’t be happier to receive over $500 in dividends this month. It sometimes is hard to remember, but dividend growth investing is a long journey. If we craved instant results, we would not be a dividend growth investor. We would be reading charts and chasing those large short-term gains. The results are real as evidenced by the fact that Lanny’s portfolio has crossed $500,000. Seeing results like that, especially from that Italian guy, gives me all the motivation I need to continue pushing forward. December is quickly coming to an end. But that doesn’t mean we should stop pushing forward and working our tails off to crush those goals we set for ourselves. Hopefully you will be pushing with us.
How were your results this month? Did you set a record this November? What stock purchases did you make? How much income did dividend increases add to your portfolio? Are you interested in purchasing Smuckers too?
Bert