Stock Purchases Kraft & Aflac

Well there has been some volatility in the markets today, so I decided to pick up a couple of new stocks.  I am using the proceeds from my recent Intel sale.  These are not part of my weekly Sharebuilder buys.

Here are the two newest additions to my portfolio.

• KRFT:  75 shares @ $53.83 --- Yield  3.90%  (inital position)
• AFL:  67 shares @ $59.92 --- Yield 2.47%  (initial position)

Total capital invested is $8051.89.  The combined yield of these purchases is 3.2% and will add $256.66 to my yearly dividends.

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investment for this week.

• ESV:  12.37 shares @ $52.47 --- Yield  5.72%
• PM:  7.64 shares @ $84.97 --- Yield  4.43%
• PAYX:  15.43 shares @ $42.06 --- Yield  3.61%
• GE:  25.37 shares @ $ 25.58 --- Yield  3.44%

Total capital invested is $2600 ($650 in each company).  The combined yield of these purchases is 4.3% and they will add $111.80 to my yearly dividends.


100/week Challenge---Week 14   S&P 500 1979

I was going to buy mores shares of Amerigas (APU), but it has been on a mini run recently and Ensco (ESV) has come down and looked like a better buy.  Phillip Morris (PM) and General Electric (GE) have been lagging all year and still look pretty good at these levels.

For the rest of the year I will be working on improving the quality of my holdings.  This does not mean I won't look at some lower tier companies that have fallen on tough times....Conagra (CAG) and Maxim Integrated (MXIM) are two companies that I will be watching closely.  I also have some smaller positions in Waste Management (WM), General Motors (GM), and Baxter (BAX) that I want to complete positions in. 

Companies on my radar for next week include Boeing (BA), General Electric (GE), Coke (KO), Procter and Gamble (PG), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Altria (MO), and McDonald's (MCD), ExxonMobil (XOM).  John Deere (DE) is also starting to look interesting.

Stock sale: 200 shares of Intel

Today I decided to sell all 200 shares of Intel for $34.57 which nets me $6889.09 after commisions. This will decrease my yearly dividends by $180.00.

After yet another $.225 dividend was declared this morning I felt the need to pull the trigger.  Owning a 2.6% yielding stock with no dividend growth does not seem like a prudent decision. 

From a performance standpoint, Intel has actually has dominated the other Dow components so far this year.  It is up an amazing 32% while the next best performer, Microsoft is up just under 20%.  The DJIA has barely moved 3% this year. 

I actually believed Intel would raise the dividend this quarter after a great earnings season with good future guidance.  Intel may very well continue rising to $40 a share or higher, but I am looking to reach FI as soon as possible. This means I will welcome low yielders with high dividend growth as well as high yielders with slow growth.  Low yielding stocks with no growth are classified as speculative investments in my book and are not aligned with my philosopy or long term goals.

I have not decided where to allocate the proceeds, but I still like MSFT, CSCO, and IBM in the tech space and may add to these positions.  I really feel good about their commitment to continue raising dividends going forward.  I also still need to create positions in JNJ, XOM, and MCD.  I will have to think about this for a little while.

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• APU:  12.97 shares @ $46.17 --- Yield  7.62%
• BP:  11.73 shares @ $51.07 --- Yield  4.58%
• PAYX:  14.12 shares @ $42.42 --- Yield  3.58%
• GE:  23.09 shares @ $25.95 --- Yield  3.39%

Total capital invested this week is $2400 ($600 in each company).  The combined yield on these purchases is 4.79% and will add $114.77 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 13   S&P 500: 1985

I never seem to catch PAYX on a down day.  Whether the market is way up or down it always seems to keep moving higher.  GE on the other hand, continues to be the Dow's bottom feeder.  MCD and KO each had lower than expected sales for the quarter.  These are two companies that are definitely on my radar for future purchases.  I also plan on selling off some of my mutual funds during the next few months.

Stocks on my radar for next week are CLX, GE PAYX, CAG, APU, AND PG.

Stocks that I will be accumulating during the final months of the year include JNJ, KO, PG, MO, XOM, BA, AAPL, CVX, MCD, WFC, and JPM.  A lot of Dow components are included in that list.

KMI Dividend Increase

KMI raised its quarterly dividend to $.43 a share.  This is up from $.42 last quarter and $.40 last year. The record date is 7/31/14 and the pay date is 8/15/14.  The new yield as of today's closing price ($36.91) is 4.66%

Since I own 213.73 shares, my yearly dividends will increase by $9.27. 

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• APU:  13.14 shares @ $45.66 --- Yield  7.71%
• BP:  11.67 shares @ $51.41 --- Yield  4.55%
• PAYX:  14.2 shares @ $42.18 --- Yield  3.60%
• CAG:  19.38 shares @ $30.96 --- Yield  3.23%

Total capital invested this week is $2400 ($600 in each company).  The combined yield on these purchases is 4.77% and will add $114.29 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 12

After 12 weeks I have added $1400.17 to my yearly dividends not counting DRIPs and dividend increases.  My year end goal is to reach $14,500 in forward dividends/interest. Currently my forward dividends are around $11,700 (this is an estimate because some of the income is from mutual funds and high yield bonds).  Doing some "back of the coaster" math I need to average about $117.00 per week for the rest of the year to reach my goal.

August through December changes.

Here is the hard part.  I have been playing around on the fringes with high yielding companies like ARCP, ESV, and APU to reach my $100 week objectives.  There is nothing wrong with these companies and I believe the yield is artificially high because they have been temporarily out of favor.  DLR is another such example that was yielding close to 7% last fall after the REITs corrected. The price plummeted to the mid $40's and is now around $60 with a yield close to 6% after a large dividend increase earlier this year.

I actually like acquiring companies that are accidentally high yielders and periodically purchase companies that are part of  the "Dogs of the Dow."  This year's small dogs that I own include Intel, Cisco, Pfizer, General Electric, and AT&T.  These have been good performers so far this year and I will continue using this strategy for part of my portfolio.  With that said, I plan on buying the so called 800 pound gorilla companies starting in August. 

Companies on my radar for next month and the rest of this year include:

JPM, JNJ, XOM, PEP, KO, MSFT, MCD, PG, MO, GE, AAPL, WFC, and CVX. 

As is always the case, I will not rule out purchasing other companies, but these will get most of my attention.

Paychex raises dividend 8.57%---New yield is 3.64%

Paychex raised its quarterly dividend 8.57% today from $.35 to $.38 per share.  The record date is 8/1/14 and the pay date is 8/15/14.  The new yield for PAYX is 3.64%. I purchased some more shares on Tuesday and will likely add more this month.  The PE is a little high, but the company appears solid and has been moving up in price recently.

Since I own 36.38 shares, this will increase my yearly dividends by $4.37. 

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• APU:  13.23 shares @ $45.34 --- Yield  7.76%
• BP:  11.43 shares @ $52.53 --- Yield  4.45%
• PAYX:  14.29 shares @ $41.98 --- Yield  3.33%
• CLX:  6.47 shares @ $92.62 --- Yield  3.2%

Total capital invested this week is $2400 ($600 in each company).  The combined yield of these purchases is 4.69% and will add $112.56 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 11

We finally get a solid Tuesday pullback in the markets and 3 of my 4 purchases are moving higher on the day with PAYX up almost 2%.  :-(  

BP looks to be a good value here while CLX and PAYX are priced to perfection, like the rest of the market.  PAYX is due for a dividend raise pretty soon and I will be eagerly awaiting to see the results.

Stocks on my radar for the rest of this month are ESV, BP, APU, PAYX, CLX, PG, GE, and TCAP.

June 2014 Passive Income

Here is the passive income I received during June.


Taxable Account

• CAIBX --- $541.94
• AHITX ---$275.46
• DLR --- $83.00
• ESV --- $73.07
• TGT --- $62.35
• DVY --- $59.49
• ABALX --- $55.76
• CVX --- $45.22
• INTC --- $45.00
• MSFT --- $42.00
• BP --- $38.14
• IBM --- $30.80
• PFE --- $25.16
• PEP --- $10.87
• ARCP --- $10.31
• WM --- 7.26
• RDS-b --- 7.05
• GM --- 3.71
• RDS-a --- $.09

Total taxable passive income is $1416.68


Retirement Account

• VFAIX --- $613.49
• ABNDX --- $119.58
• AHITX --- $108.92

Total retirement account income is $841.99

Total passive income received in all account is $2258.67


New Capital Invested

• PG --- $2400
• VZ --- $2300
• CLX --- $1650
• PFE --- $1350
• CAG --- $750
• GE --- $700
• ESV --- $700
• BBL --- $600
• BAX --- $600
• ARCP --- $300

Total new capital invested for June is $11,350.00.

Weekly Sharebuilder Purchases

Here are my automatic investments for this week.

• APU:  11.02 shares @ $45.37 --- Yield  7.76% (initial position)
• PM:  5.92 shares @ $84.50 --- Yield  4.45%
• VZ:  10.1 shares @ $49.48 --- Yield  4.28%
• CAG:  16.71 shares @ $29.92 --- Yield  3.34%
• BAX:  6.80 shares @ 73.55 --- Yield 2.83%

Total capital invested this week is $2500 ($500 invested each company).  The combined yield on these purchases is 4.53% and will add $113.30 to my yearly dividends.


$100/week Challenge---Week 10  Markets reach new all time highs.

Massive up day in the markets...*sigh*  The S&P 500 continues its march towards 2000.  APU is now my highest yielder next to ARCP.  BAX still looks good here and I will add to VZ up to 150 shares.  PM and CAG are both in the dog house right now so I think they are good values.

My weekly goal of adding $100 to my yearly dividends will be difficult this month as there are five Tuesdays for my Sharebuilder purchases and yesterday my wife told me we need a new fence for the backyard.  I told her the old one is only 18 years old and she walked into another room.  I can't wait to see the new fence....I'm sure it will be the best investment I make this month! :-) 

Stocks on my radar for next week are APU, TCAP, VZ, PM, BP, ARCP, and PG.