Recent Stock Purchase October 2016

With three weeks of October in the books, I felt it was time for me to pull the trigger on at least one monthly buy as I have been doing for many, many years during all market conditions. I have to admit, it’s refreshing to see several of our fellow dividend bloggers continuing to make buys even as others have decided to trim or completely sell their entire portfolio. Personally, I have no skin in anyone’s game other than my own and I always believed that personal finance is personal. Everyone must do what they feel comfortable for their own situation and appetite for risk. After all, that’s what risk tolerance is all about.

 

These days, despite the market trading sideways for a while, there seems to be no shortage of names selling at more compelling values and yields when compared to just a few months ago. The pharmaceutical/bio-tech space seems to be offering a lot of great buys as does the finance sector including banks, asset managers and insurance companies and even several consumer space names like V.F. Corporation (VFC) and Unilever PLC (UL) have been trading lower in the last month or so. Clearly, despite the market trading near all time highs, better value and yield plays can be found. With that being said, let’s take a look at my recent stock purchases for October 2016.

 

I have added to my taxable account 8.0000 shares at $50.74 for a total investment of $405.92 in Southern Company (SO). With this recent purchase my taxable account holdings in SO now totals 45.4049 shares for a value of $2,302.94.

 

I have added to my taxable account 9.0000 shares at $44.41 for a total investment of $399.69 in Johnson Controls International plc (JCI). With this recent purchase my taxable account holdings in JCI now totals 66.5733 shares for a value of $2,941.87.

 

I have added to my ROTH account 11.0000 shares at $42.74 for a total investment of $470.14 in Unilever PLC (UL). With this recent purchase my ROTH account holdings in UL now totals 58.5645 shares for a value of $2,504.80.

 

Again, I have nibbled on several positions in my portfolio as I have been doing for several months. In all, I was able to put $1,275.75 of fresh capital to work with another week plus to go in October trading. Should other names become compelling to me I won’t hesitate to continue nibbling on positions already in my portfolio.

 

What do you think about my recent buys? Are any of the above stocks on your October considerations list? With the market seemingly stuck within a trading range, has it got you thinking about sitting on the sidelines or are you continuing to make buys? Please let me know below.

 

Disclosure: Long VFC, UL, SO, JCI

36 thoughts on “Recent Stock Purchase October 2016”

    • Hi IH,

      There are quite a few names that are starting to look more compelling these days despite the overall market being near all time highs. I’d like to load up a lot more on UL should it drift below $40. In the meantime, I’ll continue to nibble on positions and slowly build up my portfolio. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  1. Love seeing your steady and methodical approach to building up positions. There’s always decent relative values in the market and adding to quality assets is a great way to continuously build your long term compounding ability. Guess I might need to take a deeper look at SO to see how things look because I want to add some utilities to my portfolio for their typically higher yields and to tilt a bit defensively.

    Reply
    • Hi JC,

      It’s been a long time since I added to any of my three utilities, SO, ED and D. With Southern drifting lower in recent weeks and its yield and value looking a lot more compelling than in recent months I decided to nibble a bit. As I commented above, I’d love to add more to my UL and other consumer staples. Should UL fall below $40 I would continue to accumulate. In the meantime, I’ll be happy collecting those juicy, SO and UL yields. As always, I appreciate your comment.

      Reply
  2. Looks like some quality purchases! I feel that the core of any DGI portfolio is the consumer sector. With that said, I like UL here and might consider adding to my small position!

    I have noted as have you that VFC is trending downward as well. Recently I wrote an analysis on VFC and an evaluation of their dividend you’ll have to check it out and let me know what you think!

    Kid
    Div Kid recently posted…Dividend Analysis: VF Corporation – VFCMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi DK,

      I always favored the consumer staples from day one. There’s little doubt that a core group of consumer staples can afford a lot of stability for a long term dividend growth portfolio. VFC is continuing to catch my eye. As that yield begins to creep closer and closer to 3% I think it will be difficult to ignore. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
  3. I like that you’re still active. I haven’t been “selling off” but more like rotating out of overvalued names and into names I’ve been wanting to get into that now have more attractive yields. I think I’m a little mystified by your JCI pickup. Less than a year ago you would have been able to get them at a much more reasonable valuation and a pretty good yield. I think there are better buys out there right now, but to each his own 😉 I’ve been dipping my toe into GPC and GWW a little this week. Also caught a big break with the potential buyout of RAI by BTI! Scooped up a lot of shares of RAI during the big downswing the last couple of months. Not sure whether I’m going to hold that one or take the profit yet…

    Reply
    • Hi anonymous,

      My plan is to continue buying every month as I have been doing since I became a dividend growth investor. I think that people who sell forget that one important component to being a successful long term dividend growth investor is consistency. Consistency with buys is just as important as what you buy. Consistency allows you to average down by continually making buys in a stock that has fallen out of favor. My recent JCI pick up, small as it was, was an attempt to reduce my overall cost a bit. Of course, that stock has seen a lot of action recently after the merger with TYC. Also, I’m looking forward to seeing the Adient (ADNT) spin off hit my account later this month. GWW is another great name I like. It’s been on my considerations list for a few months and I recently added to my holding not long ago. These days, GWW along with VFC and many other names are continuing to look more compelling. Congrats on that score with RAI. I just read about that earlier today. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

      Reply
    • Hi DD,

      Thanks for those words. UL has come down quite a bit in just the last month. I mentioned that if it hits below $40 I would consider making larger buys. These recent pick ups continue to help diversify my dividend income and level out my monthly payments. As always, I appreciate your comment.

      Reply
    • Hi EL,

      As far as utilities go, SO is one of the more solid names to own long term. It was one of my first buys and while not a growth machine it does offer a pretty juicy current yield instead. As you mentioned, there are quite a few deals out there despite the markets meandering around all time highs. Just off the top of my head names like GWW, VFC, TROW, TRV, GILD, WFC, UL and more are trading at much better prices, values and yields compared to just a month ago. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
  4. Intreresting purchases…steady as she goes eh? JCI is something that I am interested in learning more about — it pops up in a few places of my research such as renewable space — looks like an interesting company.

    Thanks for sharing and have a great wknd
    R2R

    Reply
    • Hi R2R,

      Not the typical names I have been buying with this recent tranche of purchases. I still am looking to further diversify my dividend income stream and will always look to add to my smaller positions to achieve that. As you stated, steady as she goes… which is still my mantra. JCI is quite a diverse company. Prior to the TYC merger and the upcoming spin off later this month of ADNT, it operated three distinct segments. HVAC, automotive interiors and batteries. Going forward, JCI will still be an interesting HVAC and battery manufacturer for those looking to get some exposure to the lithium boom. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

      Reply
    • Hi DH,

      Thank you for the continued encouragement. I’m all about slow and steady 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing UL drop below $40. As far as consumer staples go I think it’s one of the best out there that still has international growth plans. We’ll see how things pan out. Seems like quite a few solid dividend payers are facing tougher times these days. As always, I appreciate your comment.

      Reply
  5. Keep going in every market? Looks like some good additions there. I like Unilever a lot, being Dutch makes it even better 😉

    I noticed you make multiple smaller buys every month/time you post an update. We tend to do the opposite and buy larger positions because of the transaction costs for every trade. How do you deal with this?

    Reply
    • Hi Divnomics,

      I have been buying large and small every single month since I became a dividend growth investor back in 2007. I feel consistency with investing is as important as what you are buying. By “forcing” yourself to make buys each month you largely ignore all the financial noise out there and just stay the course. It’s easy to get distracted along the way and by investing with blinders on I don’t have to play the should I invest or wait game.

      My buys the last few months have been with free trades I have accumulated in several of my accounts. I make all my purchases through CapitalOne Investing (formerly Sharebuilder) and pay a grandfathered commission rate of $2 per trade under a promotion Sharebuilder had for Costco members. My normal trades are $800 and up so as to minimize my commission percentage. Orders that are less than $800 occur from time to time when I have free trades available to me. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi ACI,

      I’m continuing to nibble on positions each month as I have been doing for years. SO and UL should add some nice current yield to my portfolio while JCI is going through some major changes as of late with their recent merger with TYC and the upcoming spin off of ADNT later this month. It’s not a bad long term HVAC and battery play as many are looking for alternative energy companies these days and lithium battery players. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
  6. How does one deal with a brokerage dividend withholding on UL? I own a Canadian bank and my brokerage withholds 25% of the dividend. Luckily the potential capital gain I have on the stock greatly exceeds the dividend yield currently. The problem is that I am in the 15% tax bracket and the foreign withholding tax refund I file on the 1040 form is lost because I get a full refund of all my fed withholding anyway. That withheld dividend amount does not get refunded to me I am pretty sure. I do not get the missing 25% to reinvest with in stocks. So, I have to say, proceed with caution if you buy foreign stocks for the dividend.

    Reply
    • Hi john,

      While I’m no tax expert by any means, I can tell you that there shouldn’t be any withholding on a British company in a brokerage account. Of course, Unilever is both British and Dutch (UL and UN) so it depends which Unilever shares you hold in your account. As for the Canadian stocks (bank) there is zero withholding if you hold those shares in a U.S. retirement account such as a ROTH or IRA. This is why I keep my Canadian banks, TD, BNS and RY in my ROTH account. Hope this helps. Thank you for your comment.

      Reply
    • Hi Doug,

      Buying stock can be pretty addictive, especially when you know that every buy you make adds to your passive income stream. As always, I appreciate your comment.

      Reply
    • Hi DDU,

      UL is a great consumer staple with a lot of international growth still in its future. While there are economic headwinds at home for this name I still like it a lot long term. I’m waiting to see it under $40 before I add more. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

      Reply
  7. Hi DH,
    It’s always good to see and read about additional purchases to hold for the long-term. And quite a diverse selection this month too! I don’t own any of the these particular three but it’s great that you’re adding to your existing positions and getting a little bit more FI as a result! 🙂

    Best wishes,
    -DL
    Dividend Life recently posted…September 2016 – Income Fund updateMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi DL,

      It’s all about being consistent with your investments and sticking to the high quality names. They may not yield as much as some of the REITs, BDCs or MLPs but they are a lot more stable in general. These buys not only contribute to my future passive income stream, they also helped diversify my income as well. Over the long haul I do not want to be too reliant on just a handful of names for the majority of my dividend income. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi DF,

      The way I see it, if the market is moving sideways at least you can continue to build up your passive income stream via increased dividend distributions by continuing to make buys. Of course, I’d love to see even more bargains out there these days but I’ll take what I can get and buy when solid names pull back and offer better prices, values and yields. Thank you for your comment.

      Reply
    • Hi MSM,

      JCI has been a long time holding of mine and I plan to keep it for the foreseeable future. It will be interesting to see how things pan out in the coming years after the TYC merger and how its new spin off, ADNT will perform once it starts trading later this month. It’s a very diversified business operating in some reliable and exciting segments like HVAC (reliable) and lithium battery tech (exciting). As always, I appreciate your comment.

      Reply
  8. I kind of like that the market is stuck in a trading range. It seems that the market has been down on Fridays (i.e. when my 401k gets contributed from my paycheck) and goes up M-W so I’m timing the market well (on some weeks) without meaning to. The sideways movement is what makes that possible!

    I have only heard of Unilever and don’t quite understand what they do. I know they’re a relatively safe investment to go for and I’m going to consider buying some shares when I open up a dividend growth investing account!
    Finance Solver recently posted…5 Ways a Horrible Job Helps YouMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi FS,

      If you can spot a trading range for a stock or index or anything really, then it becomes easy to trade on the highs and lows as you have a general idea of when to buy and/or sell. Even without meaning to time the market it just happens sometimes. Regarding Unilever, it’s a large consumer staple that offers many popular and widely used brands all over the world. I am sure you are familiar with Lipton, Vaseline, Ben & Jerry’s, Klondike, Magnum, Dove, Caress, Axe, Hellmann’s, Q-Tips and much, much more. Hope this helps. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi Jay,

      Congrats on your new job. I’m sure you are eager to start putting some money to work in dividend stocks. That’s the beauty of being a dividend investor. You continue to get paid even without adding any fresh capital. Between dividend raises and reinvestment, if you choose to do so, you can still enjoy an ever increasing passive income stream. Thank you for your comment.

      Reply

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