Thursday, November 1, 2012

Monthly Review: October 2012

Here is a review of what happened in October:

Dividends: I received a total of $124.52 in dividends from the following stocks:
  • CNI: $6.47
  • GPC: $24.75
  • ITW: $15.20
  • KO: $15.30
  • MDT: $14.30
  • PM: $42.50
  • UNP: $6.00
This was a satisfactory month for dividends. I now have a year-to-date total of $1,274.19, which puts me 98.0% of the way toward my goal of receiving $1,300 in dividends for 2012. I actually achieved my goal today (November 1) thanks to a couple of dividend payments.

Dividend Increases: I was pleased to see a dividend increase announced for one of my stocks (click on the stock to see my post about the increase):
  • KMI: 2.9% increase, $1.60 more in annual dividend income
Thus far this year, there have been dividend increases for 23 of the 25 dividend growth stocks in my portfolio. I expect increases for the remaining two stocks (ADM and BDX) to be announced in November, as well as some increases that will be effective in 2013.

Savings: This month I saved $1,662 (55.9%) of my net income, which is almost identical to what I saved in September and results in year-to-date savings of $14,310.

Transactions: I bought three stocks this month (click on the transactions to see my posts about them): It was one of my busiest months for purchases this year. KMI and CMI are new positions that increase my portfolio's exposure to the energy and industrial sectors, respectively. My purchase of INTC increases the position I started in September. These purchases will increase my annual dividend income by $132.60. I did not sell any stocks for the 10th consecutive month.

Portfolio: My portfolio currently consists of 25 stocks and has a market value of $61,285.58 (including cash), which is a 1.4% increase over last month's value. The increase reflects gains from new capital and dividends being partially offset by capital losses on some existing positions.

Seeking Alpha: I published two new articles on the investing website Seeking Alpha (click on the titles to go to the articles): These articles each received a modest number of page views. In October I earned a total of $92.07 from these articles and additional page views of my previous articles, increasing my year-to-date total to $671.67. I also received my Q3 payment of $235.66, which was not included in my savings above.

Looking Ahead: November will be a slightly better month for dividends and my savings rate should remain stable. As noted above, I am expecting a few dividend increases to be announced, which is exciting. Given that I depleted my cash in October, the new capital from savings will enable me to make just one purchase this month, although I have not yet made up my mind about what I am going to buy.

8 comments:

  1. Congrats on a nice haul of dividends! You're starting to make a pretty good chunk of extra investable money with you SA articles. Glad to see that you already passed your dividends received goal of $1,300 for the year. Everything else now is just gravy.

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    1. Passive Income Pursuit: Thanks! The extra income from SA is certainly nice, although it's difficult to come up with good ideas for articles, which is why I only write one or two per month. I'm glad that I reached my dividend goal nearly two months ahead of schedule. It looks like I'll finish 2012 with a little under $1,600 in dividends.

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  2. DGM,

    Great month man! I love it when a plan comes together.

    You received a pretty solid dividend total this month. I received something pretty similar to you. Great stuff!

    The articles are paying you pretty well. That income, combined with your dividend income, is paying a pretty decent chunk of your expenses. That's awesome!

    Great job on the savings. I had to purchase two plane tickets to go home to Michigan for Christmas, so my savings rate was well below what I was hoping...but totally worth it.

    Again, great job. The success and consistency is inspiring. I definitely feel that consistency is the name of the game with dividend growth investing.

    Best wishes!

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    1. Dividend Mantra: Thanks! The dividends and SA income are pretty nice and serve as good motivation for my dividend growth investing activities. I hope to have continued success in both of those areas.

      I booked my flight home for Christmas back in August, so that's when I incurred the savings hit. However, it will be a year since I last visited my family, so it is indeed worth it.

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  3. Looks like you're going to finish the year very strong.

    Arriving at your divi goal two months early is outstanding!

    I expect you to set the bar higher next year :-)

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    1. Stoic: Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. I actually have a dividend goal for 2013 in mind already, but I'll announce it once we reach the new year. :)

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  4. Excellent all around performance! A high savings rate, 3 solid picks, plus continued success at Seeking Alpha. Keep it up! Oh and grats on meeting your dividend goal as well!

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    1. Compounding Income: Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement!

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