Let's Get This Party Started | Dividend Update - January 2018

dividend growth investing | financial independence | freedom | dividends
Dividend Update - January 2018
It's the end of one month and the beginning of another so it's time for my favorite update: my dividend update.  These dividend updates reflect all dividends that I receive through my investing pursuits. I hope they can help inspire you to take control of your own finances and invest to build a passive income stream. What you use that stream for is up to you, whether it's to fund early retirement, just provide some FI/FU money, or even to provide for an annual vacation; the key is that it can provide options and open up all sorts of possibilities. You can check my dividend income or progress pages to see what dedication to an investment plan can give you.

January got 2018 started off on solid ground with a steady batch of dividends coming into the accounts.  My FI Portfolio produced $275.76 in dividends during January, while my Roth IRA chipped in another $38.83.  Combined the two portfolios generated $314.59 for the month which represents a solid 7.7% increase compared to January 2017's combined total of $292.01.

FI Portfolio

My FI Portfolio had a solid month of January, although admittedly it's a bit of a let down after December's huge haul.  Nevertheless the dividends continued to roll in with $274.76 received during January.  

Compared to October 2017 that's a solid 8.3% improvement.  Compared to January of last year the increase was a more modest 3.3%.  The discrepancy between the quarter over quarter and year over year changes was primarily due to the timing of dividend payments.

The culprits were Coca-Cola (KO), Wal-Mart (WMT), PepsiCo (PEP) and Ventas (VTR).  Those four companies either have odd payout schedules where it's not the same month of every quarter like clockwork or in the case of Ventas pushed their dividend payment back one month.  Also General Electric's (GE) dividend cut late last year didn't help matters.  

On a normalized basis, only accounting for dividends paid in both time periods, the comparisons are quite disappointing.  The quarter over quarter change showed a 34.4% decline entirely due to General Electric.  The year over year change moved to a 2.5% decline once again due to that pesky General Electric.  I fully expect these to improve as the year marches forward.  

Roth IRA Portfolio

My Roth IRA got started off on the right foot for the new year with $38.82 of dividends coming in.  Compared to October 2017 that's a solid 3.4% increase and year over year my dividends increased 54.3%.  My Roth IRA gives a cleaner view of dividend growth investing since all dividends are reinvested and I haven't added additional capital there since late 2012.

Dividend Raises During the Month

Talk about an excellent month for pay raises.  In January, 8 of the holdings in my FI Portfolio announced dividend increases.  You mean a company I own a piece of, albeit tiny, wants to pay out more of their profits to me just because I own part of the company?  Sign me up!  

That's 8 different pay raises in just one month compared to a big, fat zero from my day job.  Combined those 8 companies increased my forward 12-month dividends by nearly $78.13.  Even better is that the raises came from wide variety of companies from industrial giants to fast food restaurants to real estate behemoths.

Looking Forward

My forward 12-month dividends for my FI Portfolio ended January at $5,937.34.  My Roth IRA's forward-12 month dividends ended the month at $336.46.  Across both accounts, assuming no dividend cuts or position size changes, I can expect to receive at least $6,273.80 in dividends over the next year.

Monthly Average

Below is the chart showing the monthly dividend totals for each year that I've been investing as well as the monthly average.  It's not always an increase as some companies have weird payout schedules, as we saw above, and eventually some positions will get dropped, but the long-term trend is what matters.  

The rolling 12-month monthly average for my FI Portfolio is at $474.11 per month which is just slightly above 2017's monthly average of $473.37.  This should continue to increase throughout the year assuming no dividends cuts.
dividend growth investing | dividends | financial independence | freedom
Monthly Comparison of Dividends Received From FI Portfolio
Dividends Received Breakdown


FI Portfolio - Dividend Income
Company Dividend Amount DRIP Shares
EOG Resources (EOG) $1.36 --
Medtronic plc (MDT) $42.38 --
Phillips Morris (PM) $66.99 --
Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) $32.34 --
Realty Income (O) $20.29 --
General Electric (GE) $20.54 --
Pepsico (PEP) $49.91 --
Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) $13.94 --
Ventas (VTR) $18.47 --
Toronto Dominion Bank (TD) $9.54 --
January 2018 Total $275.76
2018 YTD Total $275.76



Roth IRA - Dividend Income
Company Dividend Amount DRIP Shares
JP Morgan Chase (JPM) $13.15 0.113
Phillip Morris $15.12 0.144
McCormick & Company (MKC) $10.55 0.104
January 2018 Total $38.82
2018 YTD Total $38.82

I've updated my Dividend Income page to reflect January's changes.

Are you off to a great start to 2018?  

Let me know in the comments below!

Comments

  1. Congrats on the dividend income, JC. Too bad to see you affected by the GE cut. Looking forward to see you grow that passive income going forward.

    cheers
    R2R

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. R2R,

      I can't really complain about a pretty solid bump from last January although GE continues to be a thorn in my portfolio's side. Hopefully the worst of GE is over though and the rest of the portfolio can keep churning out higher dividends.

      All the best.

      Delete
  2. Looks like you are off to a good start this year. Not a fan of the GE dividend cut either. At least we didn't have huge positions so not too worried about it. Best of luck in 2018!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daze,

      It's a solid start to 2018 for sure. And the way dividend raises have come in for January it looks like the rest of the year could have a lot more good news coming. As far as GE I'm just taking a wait and see approach now. It might take a few years for things to recover, but I think the core of the business is still in pretty good shape.

      All the best.

      Delete
  3. Congrats on a solid start to the year. Notice you've got some Canadian banks there, always solid performers :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MrSLM,

      Love my 2 Canadian banks. I wouldn't mind branching out into a few other Canadian dividend growers as well.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. Great start to the year. GE cut sucks but you will overcome it lol. Keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Doug,

      It was a solid way to kick off the new year with nearly $300 of dividends. That GE cut stings, but as long as they can at least maintain the reduced dividend then things will be back on track by the end of the year for the portfolio's dividends.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Looks like a good start to the year, JC. I was amazed by all the dividend increases as well. The Jan. raises in my portfolio added over $123 to my forward dividend income. I share PEP and O as dividend payers from January. Keep the updates coming!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ED,

      I was quite surprised to see all of those increases. I went into the month expecting 4 and got 8. So no complaints from me on that front. That's fantastic that dividend increases alone boosted your forward dividends by over $120 in January alone.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. Thats a pretty good month. Sorry to hear that the GE dividend cut affected you. Overall though that is nice a good month for your dividend income. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More Dividends,

      In time that cut from GE will just be in the rearview mirror. Hopefully they can keep paying the reduced dividend. If so then all will be well and the portfolio will be back to churning out pretty solid increases from organic dividend growth alone.

      All the best.

      Delete
  7. You managed a nice year over year increase. Most of us feel the GE pain but that's why we own a stable of stocks to mitigate any cuts or eliminations. Your list of payers are some of the best dividend payers out there. Keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete

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