Now that the second quarter is behind us, it’s time to check in on where I currently am at with my dividend portfolio. I want to share the current state of my dividend portfolio, related to market value, forward-looking dividends, yield and yield on cost. Additionally, I’ll describe the activities; such as, contributions, dividends received to date and the like. I thought this may give a great snapshot of where I currently am, the progress into this year and if I like the trajectory for the year. Time to check out the state of my portfolio!
Dividend Portfolio – Market Value
My dividend stock portfolio, at the end of quarter 2, was worth $354,160.14! This was an increase of $20,956.59 since quarter 1. This is quite the increase from my prior three month change, which was only $4.9k. The big difference that occurred during the second quarter was the 2.93% stock market increase (S&P 500). Therefore, year-to-date, the portfolio is $25.9k higher than the end of December in 2017. Other than the stock market increase, the other contributions to the overall increase was from continuous investment and 401k & HSA contributes, as well as dividend reinvestment. How else does my portfolio stack up, considering I am a dividend investor?
Dividend Portfolio – Dividend Income (Projected)
Yes, the paragraph and discussion we all want to read and that I love to share! Hard savings, time and persistence work so damn well as a dividend investor, I know how lucky that I am. My forward income, at the end of quarter 2, stood at $11,065.16, up from the 10,375.05 at the end of quarter 1. This was an increase of $690.11 from the first quarter, out pacing the first quarter addition of $641.12. Year-to-date, I have now added $1,331.23, or 13.7%. How did I get there?
Dividend Portfolio – Activity
I will share the reasons for the increase in forward-looking dividend income. There are a few events at play, when you are a dividend investor, and the facets that can increase that income, as you march towards financial freedom. Please see what happened during the quarter below!
1.) Dividend Reinvestment – I had $1.8k of dividend income from june, not to mention two other months worth, and quarter 2’s dividend total was $2,724.66. This reinvested at around 3.12%, on average, which adds a solid amount of forward income from reinvestment alone.
2.) Maximizing the 401(k) and HSA – $10,711.27 went into two mutual funds VINIX and VITSX, which are two low-cost Vanguard mutual funds offered by my retirement plan and health savings account provider at work. This was easily invested at approximately 2.00% (conservative) and added a nice chunk to the forward income, as well. See my 2018 tax benefits to the tax-advantaged savings accounts and how you can benefit/things to look out for.
3.) Dividend Stock Purchases – Outside of the items from #2 above, $5,116.75 was invested. Which investments were made? They were all additional contributions to investment positions I already had established. $606 went into Citizens & Northern (CZNC), $2,431 into Procter Gamble (PG) and $787 into Pepsi (PEP). However, I also initiated a new position into Armanino Foods (AMNF) for 500 shares! Given I wrote about these dividend stock purchases, the total amount added here was $169.35 to the forward dividend income. A 3.30% yield is a smidge higher than my overall portfolio, which is a plus, but offers a solid growth rate, as well.
4.) Dividend Increases – As I wrote in my 6 month dividend increase impact article, the second quarter added $144.06 during the period to my forward dividend income. Think about that. Out of the $690 that was added, overall, in the quarter – 21% came from dividend increases! This just goes to show you how important the dividend growth rate is and the consistency in companies increasing their dividends.
Dividend Portfolio Q2 Conclusion
The portfolio page is updated to reflect the information above. My capital continues to be deployed; though I wish I had more, and I’ll take the $690 add in quarter 2, not to mention $1,331.23 year-to-date. When annualized, the amount is $2,662.46, which seems absurd! If I continue at this rate, I could reach $12,396 (based on last year’s ending figure), which is a slight bump up from the end of quarter 1. I didn’t think I could have done better than quarter 1, but I will have to say that tax reform is definitely assisting, due to the higher dividend increases than normal.
I had a few dividend stocks on my July listing, which I was able to purchase one of them already, in Starbucks (SBUX). However, I am eager to find new undervalued dividend stocks for the portfolio, to keep this engine moving in the right direction. I should have enough capital to keep the purchases going forward, at the same right, through the end of the year and could end around $20,000 invested into individual stocks. This should keep the momentum to add the $1,331.23 for the next 6 months, which would be phenomenal, to say the least.
How about you? How was your second quarter? On the right track? Like the results you produced? Any takeaways/lessons from the 180 day period? Excited to read your feedback, much appreciated and talk soon!
Great work Lanny! That is great to see all the new capital being invested and how that is impacting your forward dividend income, along with all of those beautiful dividend raises!
My Q2 has been great, although a bit skewed as I just started my DGI portfolio in late May and have been able to contribute roughly $55k in new capital thanks to a lump sum I received. The portfolio has had a 4.75% return through today with $424.12 in dividends received over the last two months. My target is to add $12-15k in new capital by the end of the year and boost that forward dividend income even more!
Keep up the great work!
Divvy –
Thanks for the comment! $55K is a TON of cash. The $424 in dividends received, in such a short period, is also sweet. I’ll have to swing by to see your projection on a go forward basis. Adding $1k/month is always a sweet goal and once you start, you can’t stop. Anything in particular you are watching?
-Lanny
I just recently added to my AFL and JNJ positions, and previously added to my SBUX position. Yesterday I added more VYM with my auto-contribution. I might squeeze in one more buy in July, but am still evaluating my current positions to see what I want to add to next.
DivvyD –
Interesting and nice. Damn, you are killing it. I haven’t made a purchase since SBUX. I wanted DAL, but damn, they have popped 10%+ lately and Hersheys too, agh!!! Keep the engine fueled.
-Lanny
You guys inspire me.
Lou –
Because of you and the community, we continue to do this more and more. So you, inspire us!
-Lanny
It’s so inspiring to see the impact that dividend purchases, dividend increases, and dividend reinvestment has on the growth of a DGI portfolio. Keep up the great work!
Kody –
Thanks for the comment. It’s the trifecta – new capital, dividend reinvestment, dividend increases. Rinse, repeat, do more.
-Lanny
Great recap and work! (Much better than the Cavs recent choices!)
Seriously, though, I’m really impressed with the drive between you and Bert. I know there is two of you, but everything is good stuff.
On your portfolio, it’s also nice to see the use of different account types. The HSA is also a good move. It’s interesting as well to see your use of funds. I’m assuming there are limited options in your HSA and work-sponsored retirement accounts, but you’re utilizing some core funds that I like, too.
Keep it up. Thanks for continuing to share. – Mike
Mike –
Thank you. Were you not a fan of the Kevin Love extension? Thoughts on it?
Yeah, the blog is a lot more fun when you two people can share their own, different, experiences. We both have our own styles, timelines and companies we are obsessed with it, which keeps our site interesting hopefully haha.
I love the HSA and I have VITSX as an option, which produces a quarterly dividend, so that’s nice. The tax advantages are too sweet to pass up!
-Lanny
Great work and keep the printing press rolling Lanny.
A little off topic here, but I have been meaning to check the pulse of a couple of my favorite Cleveland dudes on a topic. What was your take and your city’s take on LeBron heading to La La land? It certainly was a more quiet affair than when he went to Miami.
Tom
Tom –
Thank you. Great topic and a favorite one of mine. I hated it, still, but understand that it’s what he truly wants to do. I think his agent said it best – Miami was for championships/learning to be a champion, Cleveland (coming back) was to fulfill a promise and LA was for him. As, to be honest, there just wasn’t any real reason why he would leave, other than for life. Sure, we had horrible contracts, but we still had ways to make it to the finals. I was born in Akron, so it stings, no doubt.
Also – on a similar note – extremely happy about the K Love extension. Thoughts?
-Lanny
Good stuff Lanny. On LeBron, I can’t blame him for going out doing what he wants and maximizing his opportunities. That’s really what it’s all about for most of us.
On Kevin Love. Just not sure. I’m not close enough to the Cleveland basketball scene to know what the strategy is. It seems like a move that’s just going to land them in the middle. Not bad enough for high draft picks and rebuild, but not good enough to compete for anything.
So I guess, I’m a little luke warm on it. But if your a fan and are happy, there must be something to it.
Tom
Keep killing it Lanny!
– Gremlin
Gremlin –
You got it… you fricken got it.
-Lanny
I may have missed this in a previous post, but what brokerage(s) do you guys use?
Lots of good activity this quarter for you!
Mike –
Just switched from Capital One to Ally, actually, as C1 was moving to e-trade and I didn’t want to go there.
-Lanny
Fantastic work mate, keep up the excellent work. Love it.
BHL –
Thank you, thank you! We’ll see how I look at Q3 ; )
-Lanny
Hi Lanny. You’ve definitely got the trio of dividend income boosters working for you. Outstanding work… nice to read about your continued progress and 2018 performance. The numbers are getting massive!
ENG –
Thank you and they are getting bigger, right? What’s funny is a lot of it is going at it’s own pace – and that’s the beauty of it. Doing as much as you can, as early as you can – get’s the momentum moving fast and heavy.
-Lanny
Great work! I love the statistics laid out here. Goes to show what hard work and dedication can do!
DI
Dutch –
Appreciate it and I’m a numbers guy, what can I say! Consistency, saving and investing – is the magic.
-Lanny
Your portfolio is picking up steam and pretty soon should be able to care of itself 😉
Love the detailed overview btw.