Dividend Portfolio Update (August 2019)

What a roller coaster ride for the month of August. We finished the month down 1.81% on the S&P. I was hoping to see a nice flush in the markets so I can do some real shopping, but it looks like markets are holding on tight.

It looks like more investors are beginning to think that even with the current tariffs in place, the US economy can weather the higher costs due to the strength of the job market and the strong consumer. At least for now.

The trends in the personal savings rate in America have been steadily increasing since 2005 from a low of about 2.2% to 7.7% today. A steady increase in savings rate in combination with the strong consumer spending looks to be a positive trend.

The trade spat between US and China is resulting to companies scrambling to diversify supply chains. The outcome of this issue will probably continue renewing focus in the importance of diversified supply chains around the globe for businesses.

I have a newfound appreciation in businesses with management teams who preemptively took measures to broadly diversify and aggressively invest in their supply chains.

That’s another reason why I enjoy dividend investing. Many quality dividend stocks tend to be blue chip value stocks that have much matured and well diversified supply chains.

You may not see double digit growth in such stocks YOY but they often have very stable and predictable revenues partly resulting from such investments.

Sooooo, I’ll be doing a little shopping for such companies!

Let’s get into the details for the month!

Highlights and Recap

Altria (Ticker: MO) Company announced that discussions have been taking place between Philip Morris regarding a potential merger of equals. Looking at the two companies combined earnings, it dividend should be fairly safe.

Johnson & Johnson (Ticker: JNJ) Opioid ruling by Oklahoma judge resulted to a fine of $572 million which was far better outcome than what many feared to be upwards of 17 billion. Company with its cash holdings of 15 Billion as of last June, looks to be adequate to handle the fines. Company has filed for appeal which may also lead to further reductions on the fine as JNJ argues that they have followed all FDA approvals and labeling standards.

Buy Orders

I purchased 8 Shares of AbbVie Inc (Ticker: ABBV) at $65.45, which will add an additional $34.24 in dividend income per year.

I purchased 13 Shares of Invesco S&P 500 High Div (Ticker: SPHD) at $40.62, which will add an additional $22.40 in dividend income per year.

I purchased 12 Shares of Amphenol Corporation (Ticker: APH) at $86.21, which will add an additional $12.00 in dividend income per year.

I purchased 9 Shares of Caterpillar, Inc. (Ticker: CAT) at $120.94, which will add an additional $37.08 in dividend income per year.

I purchased 2 Shares of Boeing Company (Ticker: BA) at $334.45, which will add an additional $16.44 in dividend income per year.

I purchased 3 Shares of 3M Company (Ticker: MMM) at $163.17, which will add an additional $17.28 in dividend income per year.

The addition of dividends added to the year from this month’s purchase comes to $139.44.

Sell Orders

There have been no sales for this month.

Dividends? Yes please~

AT&T Inc (Ticker: T)  $190.23

Raytheon Company (Ticker: RTN)  $31.10

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (Ticker: BMY)  $4.51

The Blackstone Group Inc. (Ticker: BX)  $30.24

Enterprise Products Partners L. (Ticker: EPD)  $75.24

AbbVie Inc. (Ticker: ABBV)  $14.98

Energy Transfer LP (Ticker: ET)  $105.23

Invesco S&P 500 High Div (Ticker: SPHD)  $159.44

This month the LBF dividend portfolio paid out dividends in total of $610.97 from 8 holdings.

Dividend Increases & Decreases

Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend (Ticker: SPHD) TTM yield has increased by 0.9%, which added an additional annual dividend income of $16.28 to the portfolio.

Altria Group Inc (Ticker: MO) raised its dividend by 5.0%, which added an additional annual dividend income of $6.40 to the portfolio.

The total dividend increases provided from companies comes to $22.68 for this month.

Portfolio Snapshot

“Click photo to enlarge”

The LBF portfolio closed the month at $136,388.63 which is 2% higher than the previous month total of $133,671.34. The portfolio ended the month consisting of 21 holdings.

I finally have some YOY growth numbers! I first began this journey back in August of 2018, with total dividends in the amount of $416.13. Fast forward today and with a dividend amount of $610.97, that is a 46.8% increase since last August! All while living this FIRE lifestyle! A true blessing for me.

As of this month, the portfolio is expected to generate $5,908.86 in annual dividends. That is a 3.2% increase from the prior month which was at $5,726.07. The average current yield for the portfolio sits at 4.27% adjusted in proportion to weight.

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Conclusion

Investing never gets boring. It is such a humbling activity. The pursuit of knowledge never ends in this game. I think that is one of the primary reasons why I love it so much. Just when you thought you finally understood something, a whole new chapter of uncharted knowledge presents itself.

All my life, I dreamed to own a little piece of Boeing and I’m finally building a position into the stock. Armed with my post F.I.R.E. income streams, the process may seem slow, but that doesn’t deter me at all.

The fact that my dividend income has increased 46.8% since last August is amazing progress to me. All while having complete freedom in my life.

I still can’t believe my total income is growing much better than I anticipated after retiring at 35. What a blessing and I couldn’t ask for more.

To do what I love to do for the rest of my life is truly a dream come true. Learning to invest for a lifetime. Striving to become a better disciplined investor is one of my goals.

This month has been another blessing month in the books! What companies are you guys buying lately? Would love to know! Thanks for stopping by! 😊