Friday, February 27, 2015

February Review / March Preview 2015

Check-it-out Gremlin here.  Well this past month has seen a solid amount of activity.  One large purchase in my Roth, a little roll up in my Loyal3, and a noise complaint addressed to our condo. That last one shocks me; we are pretty quiet and I only yell at my FIFA 15 on Xbox or when the Capitals are getting shelled.  That stupid issue cost us $180 for a new thick area rug.  Other than that its been an uneventful month, which is a nice change of pace.

February:

Last month I brought in a total of $62.47 in dividends ($23.77 taxable, $38.70 Roth).  This is an overall increase over last year ($57.14) by 9.33%.  The addition of AAPL and three dividend increases accounted for the majority of the growth.  The dividend increases were realized in my Kinder Morgan (KMI), AT&T (T), and Realty Income (O) holdings.  Most notably O gave a back to back raise coming off last month's, can't deny how awesome that is!

On top of those increases I added 12 shares of Chubb Corp. (CB) to my Roth account using a free trade.  In addition, I picked up 4 shares of Microsoft (MSFT) and 1 share of Coke (KO).  All in all, that should add approximately $32.50 to my annual haul.  Not too shabby.

March:

"What's your prediction for the fight?"
"Prediction?"
"Yes, prediction."
"Pain." [death stare]
- Clubber Lang interview from Rocky III

Its tax season, which means ouch.  I owe every year, but it is preferable so that money can be put to use generating income throughout the year.  I finally have all the sheets needed to complete my annual taxes (thanks REITs...).  This also means that spending on stocks will take a hit.  In addition, I have some personal traveling happening, adding to the mess.

Outside of that, let's continue with the other bad news.  That is one of my larger holdings, Pengrowth Energy (PGH), is going to experience a dividend cut from $0.04 to $0.02 per share monthly in $CAN.  Ouch, there will be an entry specifically on this and my decision regarding that position.

This will make March likely be a quiet Loyal3 month with a few shares of whatever looks good being picked up (KO and MSFT looking the best).  Good news, one dividend increase is expected for Waste Management (WM).  Though it is not the biggest increase at 2.66%, it is still appreciated. 

Hope everyone else has a great, err better, March.
-Dividend Gremlin.
- Long all stocks mentioned.

8 comments:

  1. Yikes, never fun to have a dividend cut. I'm in the same boat with ESV, who cut from $0.75 per quarter to $0.15. Nice hit on the chin.

    Still a great month all in all as you've seen a nice YOY increase primarily due to the dividend increases of your positions. Keep on truckin' and thanks for sharing.

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    Replies
    1. W2R,

      Yes it is not going to be fun to experience that. Hearing about ESV though makes me feel like at least the cut is not that bad + it is a legacy holding. Ouch man.

      Thanks for the comment,
      Gremlin

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  2. Sorry to hear about PGH, but I have faith you'll recover quickly. Looks like a great month overall, and I really like those purchases. I almost hoped on MSFT myself, but I need to do just a little more research. Most importantly, your dividends are growing nicely! Best wishes.

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    Replies
    1. Ryan,

      Yea it happens, and I definitely will recover especially with all of the increases. MSFT is starting to look like a young IBM at this point with its buy backs and natural maturation. Its a good sign.

      Thanks for the good wishes,
      Gremlin

      Delete
  3. Never fun to see a dividend cut. COS cut their dividend so we're in the same boat as you on the crude oil hurting.

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    Replies
    1. Tawcan,

      Yes it is. However, we'd be foolish to think sweet prices at the pumps and cheap oil will last forever. I almost feel that in the meantime we should be stocking up on the cheap gas so we can travel for cheap this summer.

      - Gremlin

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  4. Gremlin,

    I'm sorry to hear of the dividend cut. It can't be fun experiencing that as it's what our strategy is all about.

    You really made me laugh with that FIFA15 comment... When I still was going to university, we often had long sessions late at night playing FIFA, waking up everyone in the house. When we finally received a noise complaint we solved it by inviting the complaining neighbours! :)

    Cheers,
    NMW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NMW,

      It happens, but the strategy is in place now to avoid it often or frequently.

      Yes, FIFA games are great and intensely frustrating. Nothing worse, than out shooting a team 20 to 1, yet losing 1 to 0.

      - Gremlin

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