I received $95.32 in taxable February 2020 dividend income. It seems a little low, but Raytheon paid in January. Sometimes they pay in the second month of the quarter, and sometimes they pay in the first. Not a big deal!

Dividend Growth

Two raises and both were over 10%. I like it! I don’t have as much invested in HRL as I’d like – I’ve been buying a share here and there when I have a few dollars left after a larger purchase. I’m hoping to change that soon and pick up a bit more.

I’d have to invest a measly $413 at my portfolio’s average yield of 2.12% to generate this much extra income.

Forward Dividend Income

I should really plan my Roth IRA contributions better. If you look at every January and Febuary, you can see I am stepping back from my taxable account because I’m adding to my Roth IRA. That trend continues this year! Happy to say that I am all set on my 2020 Roth IRA contribution and can get back to the fun stuff again soon – the taxable account.

Purchases – MDT, AVY, AWR, HRL, CINF

Purchased 2 shares of Medtronic (MDT) @ $115.95/share

Now that I’m 50/50 on VTI to individual stocks, I am starting to buy individual ones again. MDT fits the mold of some of my other purchases this month with its long dividend increase streak. 42 solid years of increases, and its most recent increase was 8% last July.

Purchased 2 shares of Avery Dennison (AVY) @ $139.52/share

More and more things require shipping and packaging. That puts AVY in a good position. They’re due for a dividend increase after their March payout.

Purchased 6 shares of American Water States (AWR) @ $91.17/share

Speaking of MDT’s dividend increase streak, AWR is on its 65th year of increases. It is new to my portfolio, but I built on top of my starter AWR holding with a few more shares this month. I’m glad to have finally taken the plunge.

Purchased 2 shares of Hormel Foods (HRL) @ $48.54/share

This month’s trend of long dividend increase streak continues with HRL’s 53 straight years. I was trying to lower my proportion of tech stocks, so I guess that drove me toward the old and proven!

Purchased 0.505769 shares of Cincinnatti Financial (CINF) @ $106.75/share

Robinhood has been in the news this week with their outage on Monday. I’ve mentioned a few times that I enjoy their platform, even though they have their moments. I also use Fidelity and Vanguard for other accounts (both taxable and non-taxable). I’ve recently used TD Ameritrade and JP Morgan as well.

The thing I like most about Robinhood is their innovation. Yes, they have a nice interface for basic stuff, and it’s mostly free. But my favorite part is their tendency to push boundaries. I now have the combination of free trades, a high-interest (only 1.3% now) savings account, and the new feature of DRIP and fractional shares.

I had to try out the fractional shares, so I picked CINF (59-year streak).

I expect I’ll pick up little bits and pieces of some of my higher price-per-share holdings with this new feature. Very thankful for it!

Head on over to my portfolio page if you’d like to see what companies pay me in other months!