Dividend Update - March 2015


It's the end of one month so it's time for my favorite update: my dividend update.  These 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 page to see what dedication to an investment plan can give you.

Ah, the end of a quarter is wonderful, isn't it?  It brings closure to a portion of the year and most importantly it means there's a big month of dividends ahead and March didn't disappoint.  I received a total of $747.37 in dividends in my FI Portfolio throughout the month and year to date I've received $1,343.42.  I also received $4.47 in dividends in my Loyal3 portfolio.  Combined my taxable accounts provided $751.84 for March.  My Roth IRA also brought in $38.35 in March for a year to date total of $64.02.

Dividends in my FI Portfolio for March actually decreased by 0.2% from December 2014 but did show a solid 32.2% increase year over year.  The decrease was due to the timing of payments since some companies I own have a weird payout schedule and I also closed a few positions over the last few months.  But thanks to steady contributions and investment I was able to make up the difference for the most part.  I'm not currently contributing to my Roth IRA due to tax issues, our MAGI hovers along the phase out limit, so all the growth shown is from dividend growth and reinvestment.  My Roth IRA showed a 2.7% increase from December 2014 and a 26.7% increase year over year.  It's not enough to retire on, yet, but at $1,300+ per quarter that's enough to make one additional purchase through dividends alone to continue building the snowball.

Dividends received are one thing, but I'm also after dividends that grow organically each year.  Six of my holdings blessed me with dividend increases announced during March.  Those companies were Wells Fargo (WFC), Air Products & Chemicals (APD), Realty Income (O), General Mills (GIS), Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI), and JP Morgan (JPM).  Thanks to the dividend increases, purchases made throughout March, and automatic reinvestment of certain positions my FI Portfolio's forward 12-month dividends increased to $5,552.35.  Forward dividends in my Loyal3 portfolio are at $55.18 which brings my total taxable account forward dividends to $5,607.53.  Forward dividends for my Roth IRA are $264.48.

Below is the chart showing the monthly dividend totals of my FI Portfolio only, 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 and eventually some positions will get dropped, but the long-term trend is what matters. At the end of the first quarter my monthly average in 2015 is $447.81 which is a solid increase from 2014's average of $379.24.  With more contributions/investments and expected dividend increases the gap should widen that much more.


FI Portfolio - Dividend Income
Company Dividend Amount DRIP Shares
Wells Fargo (WFC) $19.26 --
ConocoPhillips (COP) $12.98 --
Bank of America (BAC) $8.09 --
McDonalds (MCD) $89.17 --
Halliburton (HAL) $31.51 --
Phillips 66 (PSX) $4.14 --
Emerson Electric (EMR) $29.05 --
Walgreens (WBA) $23.31 --
Harris (HRS) $38.78 --
Cummins (CMI) $18.19 --
Target Corporation (TGT) $66.73 --
Aflac (AFL) $28.63 --
BP (BP)* $45.95 --
Microsoft (MSFT) $12.76 --
Chevron (CVX) $58.82 --
ExxonMobil (XOM) $36.39 --
Realty Income (O) $17.33 --
IBM (IBM) $33.24 --
Visa (V) $8.18 --
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $35.15 --
Pepsico (PEP) $40.32 --
Unilever (UL) $9.85 --
3M (MMM) $11.28 --
United Technologies (UTX) $8.96 --
National Oilwell Varco (NOV)* $23.46 --
T. Rowe Price Group (TROW) $10.40 --
Centerpoint Energy (CNP)* $25.44 --
March 2015 Total $747.37 --
2015 YTD Total $1,343.42
*Dividends were reinvested into the paying company.

Roth IRA - Dividend Income
Company Dividend Amount DRIP Shares
Bank of America (BAC) $5.03 0.320
Wells Fargo (WFC) $9.50 0.171
Norfolk Southern (NSC) $23.82 0.219
March 2015 Total $38.35
2015 YTD Total $64.02
*All dividends in my Roth IRA have been reinvested back into the paying company.

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

How were your dividends in March?  Are you on track to meet your dividend goals after the 1st quarter of the year?

Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing JC. It's always a great feeling receiving them dividend checks. Sweet! Keep it up bud, your compounding machine is being built nicely. :) Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hustler,

      It's building up steam now and the next 1-2 years will just continue to build it up further. I love getting dividend payments, especially since all I had to do was invest in the company.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  2. Awesome month buddy! That's a long list of companies paying you, and I'm sure you like that! :)

    Getting awfully close to eclipsing $1,000/month in this rotation. Maybe by this time next year?

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FI,

      Diversification at its finest. I'm nearing 50 passive income sources, as well as my writing income, and my day job. I bet you can tell which one I want to get rid of.

      If I can start investing heavily there's a chance it could happen in December. I should be over $800 for the end of quarter months from here on out. There's still a ways to go to reach $1k but it might happen this year.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. Nice work, JC. Forward progress is a wonderful thing to watch, is it not? Nice group of companies you got there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dividendgravy,

      Always moving forward is a great track to be on. Don't want to get on a treadmill where you're moving but going nowhere.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. JC,

    Awesome month, bud. That's a lot of income for doing nothing! :)

    I had a great March as well. Looking forward to sharing that soon.

    Your snowball is really moving now. Keep it rolling!

    Best regards.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DM,

      Doing nothing is my specialty! I expect you to have a killer March. I'm pretty excited about hitting the $1.3k threshold on a quarterly basis. That's an extra purchase each quarter from doing nothing other than counting my dividends.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Pretty solid month as your biggest for 2015, hopefully u crush this total next year buddy! Keep on grinding!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A-G,

      I expect to make minimal progress over the next month or two but the second half of the year should allow me to start investing more regularly again. And hopefully we get some volatility to bring down share prices and create even more value.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  6. Solid month for you, JC. Congrats on the dividend income....your YTD total is looking great!

    R2R

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. R2R,

      I'm really excited that my quarterly total is up over $1,300. And even better is that it will just continue to grow with dividend increases and more investment. I hope to reach the $1k monthly level by December but we'll see how that goes.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  7. Impressive income once again, your YOY growth is very nice indeed. I have a few stocks that tend to have their payments jump around a bit. I think we both have that issue with WMT. Not a big issue but it's just a bit annoying when your comparing month to month or quarter to quarter growth.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Captain,

      The YoY growth was nice but I know that will come down over time. Well unless I all of a sudden get a huge pay raise.

      I'm not too concerned with the timing of payouts although I would like it a bit more even. I figure if I can budget my money to save a huge portion each month then I should be able to deal with the varying flow of dividends. Like you said, it just makes it a pain with comparisons.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  8. I know what you mean about some companies have weird payment such as KO, they paid December then they skipped March and paid on April fools day. Your passive income look amazing! Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. F2FF,

      KO has a very wonky schedule and so does WMT. But as long as they keep paying me rising dividends I won't really complain.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  9. Simply outstanding, JC. You're on a roll and that passive income is really impressive! Now time to watch that monthly average rise even more through the end of the year. Thanks for the update!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MDG,

      That's the beauty of regular investing. I miss some payments due to timing but they start rolling in the following quarter. So the monthly average just keeps on bumping up higher.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  10. Amazing month of dividend income! Isn't it wonderful to see the passive income roll in? And you've got to love those stocks that announce dividend increases. Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ferdi,

      It's definitely become one of my favorite pasttimes. Dividends and increases? What's not to like?

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  11. JC

    Great month, I've had also a great month, keep the snowball rolling.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FF,

      Glad you had a great month. It's pretty cool to see what a little planning and saving and investing for the future can do.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  12. Hey JC,

    Incredible growth year on year! I have to say, this is very insipring for someone just starting out like myself! I'm also happy to see what we share a few stocks. Keep up the great progress!

    Thanks for sharing!

    Dividend Legion

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Legion,

      I know the percentage increase year over year will decline now that I have a solid base built, but in the end it's the dollar increase that's important. I'm glad that it's inspiring to see what others have done. I always find it motivating myself. Whether they are earning just $10 per month or $10k it's always great to see others continue to improve.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  13. that snowball is becoming a snow obese ball! keep it up ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TV,

      It really is starting to take on a life of it's own now. I can expect over $5.5k each and every year just for owning excellent companies and not having to work myself. Now that's awesome.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  14. Your year over year increases for the month of March are outstanding! Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dividend Dreams,

      I was a bit disappointed to have a decrease quarter over quarter, but i'ts a long term strategy so year over year gives better comparisons. Especially since some companies have wonky payout schedules.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  15. Hi JC,

    Congrats, very solid month! I am grateful to these dividend updates, it's really motivating me.
    This march was my best month ever in term of dividend at $359.92! Starting to feel the addiction growing :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FabSavings,

      Great job with your dividends for March! Nearing in on $400 which is awesome. DGI really does become addicting, but luckily it's a positive addiction!

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  16. Great, work!. That's a really high quality, diversified portfolio that you have there. I have a bit of big oil exposure now myself. Hoping that BP and the others continue to keep pumping out the dividend checks. Visa and Mastercard dividend income is also steadily growing by stealth as well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Integrator,

      I love that I have so many different income sources now. Even though none of them can replace all of my work income, I'm fairly confident that in most years I'll receive raises from 99% of them. That's a huge advantage over the traditional job income.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  17. Great numbers and thanks for sharing. Close to $800 in overall dividends is great. Keep it going.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dividend Growth Journey,

      I should cross the $800 mark in June and if things work out right I can cross the $900 level later this year. That's so amazing to me that I can receive that much income from doing nothing but owning excellent companies.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  18. JC,

    Loving your graph! Huge increases every single month, outstanding work.
    Even though you're income slightly decreased this month, I wouldn't worry too much. You have a wildly diversified portfolio, so I don't see your income drying up any time soon.

    Keep it up!
    NMW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NMW,

      I'm loving that graph too. It's a great way to look at the annual comparisons and it's very encouraging to keep plowing ahead.

      It feels so much better to have multiple income sources coming in. Before I found DGI and blogging I had just one income source, my job. Now I have about 50 different sources when you add in blogging, Seeking Alpha, investments and work.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete

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