December 2017 Monthly Purchases – Slow and Steady

Posted on by Dividend Dozer

I made my usual $1,000 contribution to my Robinhood individual stock account as well as $1,000 to my Vanguard VTI (Total Stock Market ETF) account. I didn’t buy anything new this December – rather I strengthened a few positions.

I’m hoping to continue on this pace of contributions, but I have some house projects that need attention, namely a crack that developed in my shower floor this morning! Even if I hold off on contributions, I’m glad to know my dividends will keep rolling in and provide some purchasing power. Hopefully it will not be an expensive fix.

One Sale

  • Sold 1 share of STAG @ $27.50/share ($27.50)

My November 2017 was the month of selling. I am now free of all REITs except for one share of STAG. I do believe STAG is a quality REIT, but I want to clear all REITs out of my taxable portfolio. I bought one share and held it for a year. I made a nice ~21% profit, including dividends. I may add REITs later, but right now they are not part of my strategy.

Strengthened Positions

I dedicated this month’s purchases to adding to some of my favorite current holdings.

  • Bought 8 shares of VTI @ $135.92/share ($1,087.32)

My VTI position is really starting to pile up. Right now, about 25% of my total taxable investments are in Vanguard’s VTI. This is paying me $63.52 in dividends this December. As I continue to add more VTI, I love the fact that it includes many small-cap and growth companies that I don’t otherwise have. If I want to step away from researching individual stocks, I can rest easy knowing that Vanguard is keeping holdings up to date. Would I have invested in Apple twenty years ago with my current strategy? Probably not. Would I have invested in Yahoo or Dell? Probably. VTI guards me against myself. If I have to cut back on contributions going forward due to house expenses, I will cut my VTI purchases last.

  • Bought 5 shares of CAH @ $58.27/share ($291.35)

I have been itching to add more CAH since buying it at $79.64 back in June. The price has dropped since then, but I still love their track record. I usually don’t buy when prices are dropping, and this is one of my few exceptions. The payoff will be a higher initial yield. The payout ratio is just 37% and the dividends have been raised 32 years running.

  • Bought 3 shares of MGA @ $55.79/share ($167.37)

No matter how the automotive industry changes over the next generation, I believe Magna will continue to provide the basics.

  • Bought 1 share of IFF @ $155.26/share ($155.26)

International Flavors and Fragrances is a self-explanatory company name, but its reach is enormous. It has 3,000 customers in 160 countries. I like that diversification.

  • Bought 1 share of AAPL @ $170.70/share ($170.70)

I kept thinking Apple was under-represented in my portfolio, and this continues my effort to fix that.

  • Bought 1 share of RTN @ $189.25/share ($189.25)

Raytheon has been one of my best performers, and my general strategy is to water the growers. I went ahead and added a bit more RTN.

  • Bought 1 share of ADM @ $40.21/share ($40.21)

ADM has become another of my favorite dividend growth investments when I just have a little cash left in my Robinhood account. 41 years of dividend growth and a 55% payout ratio fits my general criteria, and the initial yield is a nice 3.2%. I believe continued population growth will continue to drive agriculture and feel good about buying shares of ADM.

  • Bought 1 share of ADM @ $41.51/share ($41.51)

Dividends continue to roll in and when I accumulated enough, I picked up another share of ADM.

  • Bought 1 share of ADM @ $40.32/share ($40.32)

December was a great month for dividend income, and I used that to pick up another share of ADM. My ADM holding is now catching up and becoming significant in my portfolio, mostly funded by dividends I didn’t have to work for!

 

6 thoughts on “December 2017 Monthly Purchases – Slow and Steady”

  1. That is one productive month! I like the ADM purchases, I also opened up a position @ 40.09 so I’m pretty happy with that.

    1. Very nice Mr. Robot! I’m definitely hoping ADM is a set-it and forget-it type of buy. Thanks for stopping by.

    1. Thanks Dividend Geek! It seems like a lot of bloggers lean towards individual stocks – I guess it’s harder to write updates while owning and adding to a couple broad ETFs. Sometimes boring is much better though.

  3. I like all the re-positioning going on, DD. Removing the REITs from the taxable account makes sense. Any plans to add a REIT fund to one of the retirement accounts later? I like VTI as well, as you said for the exposure to some mid and small caps names. Happy New Year!

    1. Thanks Engineering! I would like to have some of every industry eventually. I’m also conspicuously light on energy stocks. I work in the energy industry and own a house, so I feel somewhat invested in those just by circumstance. The high yield and compounding shares of REITs are tempting though! I do have a good amount of VGENX (Vanguard’s energy ETF) in my Roth IRA, but if anything, my experience owning that in the last few years has taught me the importance of not putting all my eggs in one basket. Thanks again for stopping by.

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