January 2018 Stock Buys/Sells

Marching at the capital.  How proud I am of my daughter!

I would like to say I am a buy and hold kind of guy but I am not.  Sometimes I sell if my portfolio is out of balance.  Sometimes I sell if the capital appreciation for a stock is worth 10 years of dividends at the current rate.  I look to reinvest my capital in something that will grow and pay more dividends in the future.  That pattern is performed in my tax sheltered accounts as I only plan to live off of dividends in my later years.  As for my brokerage I try to hang on to stocks longer to minimize my taxes.

Besides my normal contributions to my 401k, below are the stocks I bought or sold.  Also included is how it affected my forward dividends.

Stock
Transaction Type
Forward Dividends
(yearly)
Notes
AmTrust Financial Services
Sell
-$534.48
6 quarters with no dividend increase
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Buy
+$1.22
Bought 1 share testing out a theory
Duke Energy
Buy
+21.36
Increasing utilities in my portfolio (from 0%)
IBM
Buy
+$240
I used to work for them,  they are on the right path
Old Republic International
Sell
-$152
Overweight in financials sector.  Trimming some fat here
Target
Buy
+$124

Verizon Preferred
Sell
-$26.56
This is more like a bond and not sure why I bought it.  Likely chasing yield without understand what I was buying.
Month Total

-$326.46


So you are probably thinking I am a bit crazy after the month of January.  Who gives up $300+ in dividends a year?  My goal is always to have a portfolio of dividend GROWTH stocks.  With AFSI potentially going private and with no dividend increase since 2016 I decided to cash out while the going was good.  That cash will enable me to invest further in dividend growth stocks at the right opportunity.  With the market swinging wildly during this correction it could provide the right time.

I hope you were able to increase your forward dividends in January (or just get started with dividend growth investing).  Let me know what you did for the month as I am always curious what the community is doing.

Dividend Family Guy

Comments

  1. DivHutFebruary 27, 2018 at 3:28 PM

    I can understand wanting to sell certain stocks that lack future growth. For now, I'm still holding on to all my stocks though several have been big time dogs as of late. Like the DUK pick up. I htinkg every DGI portfolio needs some utilities even though they are not traditional high dividend growth stocks. Utilities are definitely not loved these days as are the REITs. For now I have SO, D and ED with an eye on PPL. I still would like to add ORI one day to my portfolio. Not just yet... Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dividend Family GuyFebruary 28, 2018 at 9:33 PM

      I do like SO and ED and am keeping an eye on them. Hope to get my Utilities up to 10% of my portfolio this year.
      DFG

      Delete
  2. Frankie @ Fully Franked FinanceMarch 2, 2018 at 2:39 PM

    I think it's great you're prepared to trim and maintain your portfolio so that it keeps performing as you plan. Very easy just to let things run and forget about it. I'm also more inclined to sell holdings that look overvalued or have become a huge proportion of the portfolio and try to reinvest in better opportunities. Hope your decisions work out well in the long run!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dividend Family GuyMarch 6, 2018 at 6:53 AM

      Thanks Frankie. There is a balance between holding for the long term and keeping things balanced. My portfolio is still unbalanced (my fault) so more trimming needed.
      Later,
      DFG

      Delete
  3. Engineering DividendsMarch 5, 2018 at 11:05 PM

    I think your moves makes sense given your dividend growth objectives. Congrats on getting the shuffling done. Sometimes selling can be a difficult talk. Hopefully, the changes you've made will soon start yielding returns.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dividend Family GuyMarch 6, 2018 at 6:53 AM

      I think they have but we will see come end of year how my dividends add up.
      Peace,
      DFG

      Delete

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This webpage is provided for general information only and nothing contained in the material constitutes a recommendation for the purchase or sale of any security. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at dividendfamilyguy at gmail dot com.