These are my very first stock purchases. I stumbled around for a bit, hit my head, and generally had no idea what was going on. I hadn’t stumbled onto the idea of dividend growth investing yet. Here’s what I came out with in October 2016.

I am writing this looking back from September 2017.

41 shares of F (Ford Motor Co) @ $12.14/share ($497.74)

I was mostly lured in by the low P/E ratio and high dividend yield. Ford holds no place in my heart other than being a recognizable brand name. I would later realize Ford’s dividend has been stagnant at $0.15/share each quarter since January 2015. I’ll eventually sell these shares of Ford and replace them with greater dividend growth potential.

14 shares of BP (British Petroleum) @ $35.97/share ($503.58)

High yield but no dividend growth. I’ll later sell this holding.

5 shares of BUD (Anheuser Busch InBev) @ $117.50/share ($587.50)

I was going for recognizable names. I do believe BUD will be around for a very long time, but the dividend is not growth-oriented. I will later sell this one as well.

9 shares of VZ (Verizon Communications Inc.) @ $50.26/share ($452.34)

Sucked in by the big yield. I am lucky I even picked a dividend growth stock, although the most recent increases have been lackluster. I plan to sell this in the near future.

6 shares of DIS (Walt Disney Co) @ $90.81/share ($544.86)

Pure luck on this one. I will add to it in the future. I love the brand along with the quality of entertainment. I’m excited for what they are doing with the Star Wars franchise. I’m also excited for the new trend of recreating old Disney movie favorites into live-action films. I feel great holding DIS long term and watching the dividend grow.

14 shares of CALM (Cal-Maine Foods Inc) @ $36.84/share ($515.76)

One of my best learning experiences. All I knew is they produced eggs. They had been pumping out an erratic, but high-yield, dividend for a few years. Little did I know, they had discontinued their dividend six months before I picked up some shares. I’ve held onto it to see if it will appreciate, but I will probably sell after the one-year mark and reinvest the proceeds into dividend growth stocks.

20 shares of CTL (Centurylink Inc) @ $27.52/share ($550.40)

Sucked in by another high yield. I am a happy Centurylink customer, and I bought this stock in anticipation that their fiber network would continue to expand and attract more customers away from their competitors. I am still a happy Centurylink customer, but this has been one of my poor decisions. The high yield remains, but the stock price has eroded to $18.68 at the time of this post (Sept 2017). In addition, Centurylink does not attempt to be a dividend increaser.

17 shares of OHI (Omega Healthcare Investors Inc) @ $31.79/share ($540.43)

Another high-yield got me. Although, I am interested to see how this plays out. I have discontinued buying REITs due to the tax consequences, but I am holding onto OHI. They grow their dividend every quarter and I am interested to see if they can keep up.