March 2020 Dividends





Hello everyone,

Thanks again for stopping by. We have crossed into a new month, and as such, it is time for a dividend income for the previous month.

But not just yet. First off, I wanted to share well wishes for you and your loved ones for this challenging time. This COVID-19/Coronavirus is proving to be a serious challenge medically and economically. Hopefully you are staying safe and healthy, but if you have been infected with it, I wish you a speedy recovery.

So now let's take a look at the dividend income tally for March 2020:


March 2020 Dividend Summary
Taxable Accounts
CompanySymbolDateAmount
WW GraingerGWW3/2/2020$15.84
KrogerKR3/2/2020$5.44
CumminsCMI3/5/2020$36.71
Emerson ElectricEMR3/10/2020$3.00
HanesBrandsHBI3/10/2020$1.95
International Business Machines CorpIBM3/10/2020$3.24
TargetTGT3/10/2020$21.12
Snap OnSNA3/10/2020$33.48
Walgreens Boots AllianceWBA3/12/2020$48.04
3M Corp.MMM3/12/2020$44.10
Flower Foods, IncFLO3/13/2020$13.11
Vanguard High Yield Dividend ETFVYM3/13/2020$2.00
Compass MineralsCMP3/16/2020$11.52
VF CorpVFC3/20/2020$10.08
Kontoor BrandsKTB3/20/2020$1.68
QualcommQCOM3/26/2020$37.78
iShares Large Cap S&P 500 ETFIVV3/31/2020$62.79
PepsiCorpPEP3/31/2020$35.34
Taxable Accounts Total$387.22
Roth IRA Account
CompanySymbolDateAmount
Vanguard High Yield Dividend ETFVYM3/16/20$21.95
T Rowe PriceTROW3/31/20$13.41
Roth IRA Account Total$35.36
Overall Dividend Income Total$422.58
Forward 12-month Projected Dividend Income Total
$3,518.68


March always is one of my better months for income, as well as the other months which are the third month of the quarter.

It was also a busy month for purchases, as I was able to make regular purchases throughout the month:

March 2020 Transactions
BuysQtySellsQty
AFL34N/AN/A
MMM2N/AN/A
WBA7N/AN/A


With the recent downward trend in the market, I finally was able to enter a position for Aflac (AFL) at an attractive price, and I kept adding. I was able to add 34 shares which will add $53.76 in 12 month forward dividend income.

3M (MMM) remains in an attractive range, and so I added a couple shares, adding $11.76 in 12 month forward dividend income.

Walgreens - Boots Alliance (WBA) continues to trade at very low multiples, and in this environment, I feel good about adding to a company in the healthcare industry. I added 7 shares, which added $12.81 in 12 month forward dividend income.


My Current Thoughts
So, we continue on with COVID-19 cases still rising, and impacts still taking hold on the population from a health perspective, and also an economic perspective. Few companies are immune to this impact. As a dividend growth investor, I am keeping closer attention on dividend announcements. Not so much for getting excited over dividend raises, but to hopefully avoid the bad news about a dividend cut or suspension. I'm currently knocking on wood as I write this because to this point, none of my holdings have announced a dividend cut or suspension. Yes, I've been fortunate so far, but it's probably not realistic to expect that to continue for all my holdings, given this environment.

When it comes time to make buys, as I look at potential/existing holdings to add to, among other factors, I am focusing on dividend safety. Companies that still manage to raise their dividend are even better. I try my best to maximize my chances of finding or adding to companies that are most likely to be needed in this environment, have a low amount of debt, and thus keep earning to be able to keep paying out the dividend or even continue raising them. More than ever I am looking at Dividend Aristocrats/Champions, which have raised their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years. Dividend Kings, who have raised their dividend for at least 50 consecutive years, are another group I am looking at. Companies in these groups have managed to weather many economic downturns, so it gives some degree of confidence that they can at least maintain their dividend through these challenging times. There are no guarantees, but it's about maximizing the chances that the dividend income will remain.

Now let's take a look at my dividend income history:


Dividend Income History

Month2014201520162017201820192020
January0$14.38$14.42$70.45$72.34$97.11$237.62
February0$49.07$50.38$112.01$190.55$178.07$204.19
March0$50.22$52.16$182.28$232.83$231.81$422.58
April0$10.83$27.91$64.56$78.40$70.34
May0$46.52$59.42$132.14$162.41$187.18
June$6.69$47.51$90.97$198.86$259.18$195.35
July0$18.99$51.37$168.64$102.00$80.81
August$33.96$50.11$86.07$156.46$183.50$192.45
September$54.75$55.61$101.70$226.17$192.40$211.61
October$10.94$14.42$72.53$79.06$133.64$78.18
November$48.79$50.11$103.31$158.18$184.42$167.86
December$63.55$49.89$168.03$234.71$255.99$315.70


Another new high, pretty cool to see. Now let's look at it in graphical form. Hopefully this new graph format is easier to follow than previous graphs...



Also, looking at % change over the last quarter year, shows the rate of growth of dividend income.

%Chg Qtr%Chg Year
Mar 202033.85%82.30%

Being able to contribute to the portfolio again since the home purchase last fall as well as cashing in bonds from late 2019, is now showing up in the dividend payments, resulting in the high amount of dividend growth over the last quarter or the last year.

So that's a wrap for March 2020. I am hoping things are ok for you and your family as we get through this trying time. The pandemic itself makes for a tough situation for most, but aside from that, hopefully your March 2020, at least dividend-wise is going well.

Let me know in the comments.


Comments

  1. Reverse The crushApril 25, 2020 at 12:29 PM

    Nice work, Seeking the Dividends! That is a nice haul of dividends overall. Your dividend income history chart is starting to look really nice! Congrats on reaching the new high. Keep it up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seeking the DividendsMay 2, 2020 at 10:19 AM

      Thanks, Reverse the Crush, it definitely feels good to get it moving in the right direction.

      Delete
  2. desidividendApril 26, 2020 at 5:43 AM

    Good growth compared to last year,i made 2 out 3 stock on your purchase list ,only one i didnt buy was WBA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Seeking the DividendsMay 2, 2020 at 10:23 AM

      Thanks desidividend, I'm hoping the ones I purchased are able to maintain their dividend payments. So far so good!

      Delete

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