Weekly Dividend Investment Activity

Hi fellow bloggers and investors,

It’s that time of the week again, as I will detail my weekly activity.   Sadly, the market bounced back quite strong this week, so I still haven’t made my larger purchase for the month.  I've saved up the necessary funds, so now I’m just waiting on a good time to pull the trigger and pick me up a position in a company on my watch-list.  My short list still includes ARCP and KMI.  KMI has gained a ton of ground since it dropped sharply during the latest pullback, so not sure if it is priced right at the moment.  I’ll be studying over the numbers this weekend and see where the market takes us next week! 

During this week, I made several small purchases through my Loyal3 account and in my direct investments.  I saved other capital to be used in a larger purchase next week, so I can’t wait to put that money to work for me.  Overall, I invested $225 on existing positions and saved around $1250 to be used for my next stock purchase this coming week.  So far during my weekly activity logs for the month of October, I've invested $2366, which is pretty awesome.  My goal for each month is to invest at least $1500, so I shattered that goal and will add even more to it next week. 

Now to the meat and potatoes…. I did not add any new positions this week, but added to my existing positions, as I build them slowly, one buck at a time! 

Dividend Growth Investing:

Loyal3:

Overall, I invested $170.00 in my ever growing Loyal3 account for the week.  I added to my positions with McDonald’s Corp. (MCD), The Coca-Cola Company (KO), Target Corp. (TGT), and The Walt Disney Company (DIS).  I consider these as part of my core holdings, so I’m hoping to keep adding to them on a regular basis, either weekly or minimally once a month. 

The $170.00 was spread out in the following companies:

McDonald's Corp. ( MCD ): $35.00 invested adding 0.3836 shares

The Coca-Cola Company ( KO ): $75.00 invested adding 1.8248 shares

Target Corp. ( TGT ):  $35.00 invested adding 0.5825 shares

The Walt Disney Company ( DIS ):  $25.00 invested adding 0.2935 shares

Direct:

I had one automatic investment go through for my ongoing investment in ConocoPhillips (COP).  The summary of my purchase is:

ConocoPhillips ( COP ):  $55.00 invested at a share price of $69.84

Summary:

Overall, this week was productive in my portfolio growth, as I added a small amount of capital and saved some for future investments.  I invested $225 in existing positions and saved $1250 to be used next week for investments.  I crossed over $150 in my forward annual dividend income, as it currently sets at $156.02, with my 2014 goal of $200 in the crosshairs.  As of market closing today, my dividend growth portfolio value is $5822.68, after a little over two months of investing.  My investments now total approximately $52000.   1/20^th of a millionaire already! haha

Thanks so much for stopping by and please leave me a comment!  

Special Agent Dividend

Loyal3 App - Apple iPhone iTunes

Hi everyone,

I'm sure most have seen it, but wanted to let everyone know that the Loyal3 app is available through iTunes now. I've been using it throughout the week and have no complaints at all.  The Loyal3 app is ridiculously easy to use and makes investing that much easier.  It does require you to enter your password but saves your email for a quick login.  The app has been very smooth with no crashes at all to this point.  I've made a few small buys and all went through as ordered.  The interface and functions are all easy to navigate.  Overall, it's very simple to use and I would recommend it to all Loyal3 users.  Simply go into iTunes and search for Loyal3 and it's the first app that comes up.  Happy investing! 

Weekly Investment Activity - Dividend Stocks and TSP

Hi everyone,

The market has been hectic to say the least, as wild swings in both directions have been daily occurrences, which means some opportunities are presenting themselves to us investors.  I really wish I had a wad of cash to throw down on some stocks, as the energy sector has been hit very hard, along with numerous other attractive dividend stocks.  I’ve been saving up for one big buy for the month, but not quite there with the total I would like to invest at a time to minimize trading fees with the broker.  However, I did add to some of my positions through my direct investment plans and my Loyal3 account.  Also, I contributed to my 401K plan, which is the Thrift Savings Plan ( TSP ).  Overall, I put $834.00 to work in my investments, spread between my TSP account and my Dividend Growth portfolio. 

This posting will detail last week’s investment activity, as I invested capital in my TSP account, Loyal3 account and by direct investing.  I did not add any positions, but rather added to existing positions as I continue to grow them one penny at a time.   

Dividend Growth Investing:

Loyal3:

I invested $70.00 in my Loyal3 account for the week.  I added to my positions with McDonald’s Corp. and The Coca-Cola Company.  Although I do not consider KO cheap at the moment, I want to continue adding small amounts to my position on a monthly basis to slowly accumulate shares.  If the price dips significantly, such as sub-40s again, I will add a larger amount of my capital.  I do like the current valuation of MCD, as it’s very attractively priced at the moment with a very good Yield on Cost (YOC).  I will keep adding to MCD on a weekly basis, as long as the price stays down. 

I ended up investing $70, which was spread out between two companies.  I invested the following: 

McDonald's Corp. ( MCD ): $50.00 invested at a share price of $90.58

The Coca-Cola Company ( KO ): $20.00 invested at a share price of $42.68

Direct:

I ended up throwing some extra capital into my monthly direct investment plans.  Energy stocks have been beaten down lately, and presented some good opportunities to allocate some additional funds this month.  In total, I put $351.00 towards additional monthly purchases this month for my holdings in COP, XOM and LMT.  The summary of my purchases are:

ConocoPhillips ( COP ):  $35.00 invested at a share price of $68.51

Exxon Mobil  ( XOM ):  $250.00 invested at a share price of $90.19

Lockheed Martin Corp. ( LMT ):  $66.00 invested at a share price of $175.07

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP):

I had a bi-weekly contribution to my Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account.  I invested $413.00 in total, which was spread out 60% in the C Fund, 20% in the S Fund, and 20% in the I Fund.  My TSP account was hit very hard so far in the month of October, as the market has plunged.  However, it just means it is better time to buy for me! 

Summary:

This week was a wide ride for sure in the market.  I ended up investing a total of $834.00 of small purchases and in my TSP.  I’m still saving for a larger buy this month, and have a few select dividend stocks on my radar.  I’m really hoping the market stays low for the time being, but after the Friday rally, who knows?!   This coming week I’ve already allocated some purchases in my Loyal3 account, which should go through on Monday and Tuesday.  Of note, my last weekly post, I noted that my dividend income is at $135.09.  After the new purchases, it now stands at $148.73.   It goes to show you that these small purchases really can make a difference.  I am now getting closer to my 2014 goal of $200 in forward dividend income, which is awesome!  Slowly but surely racking it up!

Thanks for stopping by and please leave me a comment!  

Ford (F) Stock

Hi everyone,

A week ago I added Ford Motor Company (F) to my slowly growing portfolio that I started at the end of July 2014.  I’m partial to Ford, as an owner of Ford vehicles and a previous shareholder.  As I stated in my blog post regarding my Ford buy, I sold my Ford shares in 2013 for a 90% profit.  Not too shabby, but I've recently switched my strategy to long term investing, as do my fellow bloggers I religiously follow.  Since my ‘awakening,’ I’m focused on generating dividend income and long term capital accumulation to pad my retirement and my wallet!  I’m all about the divvies now!!  I wish I would have started in my teens or early twenties, but alas, I guess it’s never too late, so I started this journey in my early 30s.

My investment strategy has shifted a great deal, as I am now a more pure buy and hold guy.  I do not necessarily over concern myself with the ongoing dips we see in the short term, but rather see it as a golden buy opportunity.  Who doesn't want to buy things cheaper?  Anyways, I try not to distract myself with one particular bad quarter or some bad announcement that sends a stock tumbling, but rather look at it as something I will own for twenty years plus.     

Ford Motor Company has been hit very…. very hard lately.  Ford is down around 20% over the past 3 months.  It last closed at $13.62, which is near its 52 week lows and significantly off its 52 week high of $18.12.  During the market today, it actually went well under its 52 week low but rose back up prior to the closing bell.

Ford Motor Company is not simply a car maker, but rather has a pretty robust financial side to the business with its Financial Services segment, which sets it apart from its peers.  The company is described, per Google Finance, as:

Ford Motor Company (Ford) is a producer of automobiles. The Company together with its subsidiaries is engaged in other businesses, including financing vehicles. The Company operates in two segments: Automotive and Financial Services. Automotive includes Ford North America, Ford South America, Ford Europe, and Ford Asia Pacific Africa region. Financial services include Ford Motor Credit Company and Other Financial Service. The Company manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. Its automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. Other Financial Services includes a range of businesses, including holding companies and real estate. Effective September 26, 2013, Ford Motor Company acquired Livio, a developer of software.

While the Ford Motor Company may not be the prototypical dividend stock in your portfolio, it deserves a second look, especially for an established portfolio that may need some more diversity.  Ford is currently trading at a pretty decent valuation with a P/E of 8.37, along with a starting yield of 3.67%.  Ford reestablished its dividend in 2012, subsequently raising the dividend the following two years.  In this regard, the dividend is not necessarily safe, as Ford cut its dividend from 2006 to 2012 during the great recession and aftermath.  Overall, Ford does have its concerns, and it’s not the blue chip dividend stock it should be.  For example, Ford has recently been downgraded by the likes of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs for the short term with a target price of $17.  However, as I mentioned above, I’m not concerned with the short term and feel the company can continually be profitable over the long term.  European sales have been increasing, as Ford sales rose over 14% and 12% respectively in the past two months.  Ford will be releasing its new generation of F-150s soon, along with the sixth generation of the Ford Mustang.  These should add some sales growth in the U.S. and around the world.

Ford will continue to be a part of my portfolio over the long haul, unless it cuts its dividend.  I do not plan to make it a major holding, rather it will be relatively small position overall.  I plan on buying more shares soon, as I’m hoping it continues to decline some more and I can average down on my current cost basis of $14.50.  I would like to build my position to around 150 shares and then slowly accumulate additional shares with a DRIP. 

Any others with F as a part of their portfolios?    

Weekly Dividend Investment Activity

Hello everyone,

Although this week was not very active for me, as I'm saving up for a larger buy this month, I did manage a few small purchases in my Loyal3 account. I'm really thinking I will go with a REIT on the next investment, but I'll see where the market is at that time.  I may end up adding to my XOM position as well, as I think there is real value in energy right now.  I'm hoping the market stays volatile so I can pick up some shares on clearance, either way.  

This posting will detail last week’s investment activity at Loyal3.  I ended up adding a tiny amount to some companies I already own. 

Dividend Growth Investing:

Loyal3:

As I was saying, I had a few small purchases in my Loyal3 account.  I really like the ability to throw down some nominal amounts at any time to slowly accumulate shares.  I'm hoping it eventually pays off, as it doesn't seem to be much, but I'm betting it will begin to slowly add up to pretty decent numbers. In addition, I'll keep taking advantage of no fee investing while the going is good!! I'm always skeptical of anything 'free' so we shall see. It's been great so far in the few months I've been using them. 

I ended up investing $90, which was spread out over four companies.  I invested the following: 

The Walt Disney Co.: $20.00

McDonald's Corp.: $30.00

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.: $20.00

Target Corp.: $20.00

Dividends:

I had one dividend payment for the week, as the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (DPS) paid out $0.58 in my Loyal3 account. I haven't really added to DPS lately, as I've been trying to add to KO first.  I do like the potential of DPS, but the price has risen to almost 12 month highs lately.  In this market, it doesn't appear to be of good value, in comparsion to others. I'll have to run some numbers and try to find a fair market value before I initiate any more buys in the company. 

Summary:

The week was not very interesting overall.  I invested $90.00 in fresh capital and put some other cash in my buy fund for a larger purchase coming up in a week or so.  This coming week I will be making some more purchases in my Loyal3 account and maybe a few automatic investments will go through.  My annual forward dividend income now sits at $135.09.  It's slowly starting to build up! 

Current Positions - Portfolio

Hello fellow investors and future millionaires,

This will be my second posting related to my stock positions, as of today, October 8, 2014.  I detailed my positions exactly one month ago at September Current Positions.  At that time, the value of my portfolio was $3,896.97 and my estimated annual dividend was $94.47.  I added a few buys during the month of September and early October to my Dividend Growth Portfolio and to my Thrift Savings Plan investment account.  I’ve reached my first goal of $100 in forward annual dividend income and went over $5,000 in my DGI portfolio. 

Special Agent Dividend’s Portfolio

Here is the breakdown of my Dividend Growth Portfolio, as it stands today, which is a little over two months in the making (don’t laugh): 

	Company	Ticker	Shares	Market Value	Dividends
	Apple Inc.	APPL	21.3892	$2,156.03	$40.21
	Target Corp.	TGT	4.9676	$312.01	$10.33
	The Coca-Cola Company	KO	5.1423	$229.09	$6.27
	Dr. Pepper Snapple Group	DPS	1.409	$91.87	$2.31
	Wal-Mart Stores Inc.	WMT	1.6893	$132.17	$3.24
	McDonald’s Corp.	MCD	2.3619	$221.62	$8.03
	Lockheed Martin Corp.	LMT	1.0593	$186.81	$6.57
	ConocoPhillips	COP	2.3229	$173.13	$6.78
	Verizon Communications Inc.	VZ	3.4886	$173.98	$7.67
	Exxon Mobil Corp.	XOM	2.0210	$191.20	$5.58
	Intel Corp.	INTC	0.8934	$30.62	$0.80
	The Procter & Gamble Co.	PG	3.2144	$270.59	$8.28
	The Walt Disney Company	DIS	1.9214	$169.29	$1.65
	Ford Motor Co.	F	51	$724.71	$25.50
			Total	$5,063.12	$133.24

Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Secondly, is my Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account.  It really took a hit over the past month with the overall market downturn.  However, as a relatively young investor, I like cheaper stock prices so I can benefit from a higher buying power of my money.  I’ll continue to rebalance and mix up my contributions, as the market may dictate.  Here is the breakdown of my TSP account:

C Fund   Common Stock Index	1,124.5201	$25.4008	$28,563.71
S Fund   Small Cap Stock Index	261.0787	$33.3197	$8,699.06
I Fund   International Stock Index	321.0954	$24.4967	$7,865.78
		Total	$45,128.55

Summary:

Overall, my investment accounts total $50,191.67.  This does not include my wife’s 401k plan.  We will continue to aggressively invest in dividend growth stocks to build a solid portfolio.  In addition, we have talked about opening up ROTH IRA accounts as well, in addition to our taxable account.  Any opinions on ROTH IRA’s?  I was thinking it may be best to build a solid portfolio in the taxable accounts first, and then branch off to the ROTH IRA's when we have more capital to effectively distribute.  

Monthly Activity - September Investments and Dividends

Hi everyone,

This post is detailing my investment, dividend, and passive income activity for the month of September.  During the month, I invested a total of $2489.20 in fresh capital in my retirement account and dividend growth portfolio, less dividend reinvestment plans.  I received a HUGE $4.87 in dividends, along with $50.00 in credit card rewards and $9.15 in monthly dividends from my bank account.  In addition, I received a positive cash flow of $325 in my investment property.   Here is the breakdown of the activity:

Dividends Received:

I received a grand total of $4.87 in dividends from my investments this month.  Not much by any means, but I can’t wait to look back on this month next year to see the year over year change.  Here is the breakdown:

MCD 1.09

TGT 1.99

WMT .30

INTC .13

LMT .91

XOM .45

Buys:

Most of my investments went to my retirement investment account for the month, along with purchases made in my Loyal3 account, direct investments and my main brokerage.  Overall, I used $2489.20 to put to work in my investments.  I have a goal of contributing at least $1500.00 to investments each month, so I bypassed that goal by a good margin.  Here is the breakdown of my investments:

Retirement Investment Account, Thrift Savings Plan ( TSP ).  I contributed $1240 in my TSP account, which was spread out in the following indexes:

1.  C Fund, Common Stock Index, 60% Allocation

2.  S Fund, Small Cap Index, 20% Allocation

3.  I Fund, International Stock Index, 20% Allocation

Loyal3

I really slacked in my Loyal3 account for the month, as I only contributed $110 overall.  I invested the following:

TGT 20.00

MCD 10.00

WMT 20.00

DIS 25.00

KO 35.00

Brokerage and Direct

My other investments for the month totaled $1139.20.  These were broken down into my monthly contributions to several companies and an addition to my holding in Apple.  Here are the purchases:

-          ConocoPhillips (COP):  55.00 in new capital invested for 0.6794 shares

-          Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM):   65.00 invested for 0.658294 shares

-          Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ):  60.00 invested for 1.212121

-          Lockheed Martin Corporation ( LMT ):  Invested $66.00 at a purchase price of $179.06 for .368585 shares.

-          -          Apple ( AAPL ):  I purchased 9 shares for a cost of 98.25 for a total amount of 893.20.  

Investment Property:

No change in my investment property for the month, as I have a current tenant leased until early 2015.  Here is the breakdown:

Loan payment - $845

Rent income - $1300 minus management fees of $130 = $1170

Positive cash flow = $325 monthly

Other:

My other forms of passive income for the month of September included my monthly credit card rewards and my monthly dividend through my bank.  During the month, I received $50.00 in credit card rewards, as I use a rewards card as much as possible to leverage rewards.  In addition, I received $9.15 in a monthly dividend from my bank from my cash balance.  This added $59.15 to my overall passive income for the month. 

Summary:

Overall, I received $389.02 in passive income, which includes my dividends, rewards and investment property.  I invested $2489.20 in fresh capital to my retirement investment and dividend growth accounts.   Not a huge month, but a steady month of investments that I hope will pay off in the long run.  Slow and steady wins the race!! Thanks everyone for checking out the blog and commenting, as I really appreciate it.  

Weekly Activity - Dividend Investments and TSP

Hi fellow dividend gamers,

Whew this week flew by… I can’t believe it’s Friday evening already.  I had some investment activity this week, as I made two buys and received one “small” dividend from KO.  In addition, I contributed to my Thrift Savings Plan ( TSP ), which is my retirement investment account.   In total, I invested approximately $1217.00 in fresh capital, as I’m putting it to work in my dividend growth and retirement accounts. 

Dividend Growth Investing:

  

I had one automatic investment completed during the week.  The following trade was completed:

Exxon Mobil Corp. ( XOM ):  I invested $65.00 at a purchase price of $92.85 for 0.700017 shares.  

I plan on continuing investing in XOM on a small basis and reinvesting my dividends until I obtain a nice size position. 

Yesterday, I bought Ford Motor Company ( F ) as detailed in the prior post.  F has had a significant downturn in the past week and I thought it presented a good opportunity to add a position.  While it may not be a traditional DGI stock, I feel F has room to grow its dividend and create some capital gains.  I bought 51 shares of Ford at a share price of $14.50, for a total of just under $740.  The Yield on Cost (YOC) was about 3.45%, so not bad at all.  If it keeps going down, I may add another 49 shares to round my lot to 100. 

Thrift Savings Plan ( TSP )

This week I again contributed to the Thrift Savings Plan ( TSP ), as I made a pre-tax contribution of approximately $412.00 to purchase shares of the C Fund, S Fund, and the I Fund.  I should have changed my allocations a bit and tweaked my holdings, but I stayed with the 60/20/20 split.  The I Fund was hit very hard during the month of September, so my overall balance has dropped even after making three contributions during the month.  The balance is now just north of $47,000. 

DIVIDENDS

I had one dividend deposited for the week, as The Coca-Cola Company ( KO ) rewarded my small position with a payment of $1.31.  This was deposited into my Loyal3 account, and I plan on using it with some fresh capital to make a purchase this coming week.

Summary:

A decent week, as I continue to put my money to work with investments.  I invested $1217.00 during the week, which was spread out between my retirement account and my dividend growth portfolio.  It was nice to see another dividend rolling in; it’s addictive really.  Even with the small amount, it just makes me want to invest more and more to grow my account quickly.  On another good note, my dividend growth portfolio crossed over the $5000 amount this week and my estimated annual dividend now sits at $133!  I'm happy about that, as my investments continue to grow week by week.  Thanks for checking out my weekly purchases!