Portfolio

I will update my portfolio once a month on this page.

February 2024 Portfolio Update

Brokerage Account

SymbolDescriptionQuantityGain/Loss %
MMM3M CO26.2635-1.29%
TA T & T INC565.2055-12.93%
ABTABBOTT LABORATORIES79.3113+274.6%
ABBVABBVIE INC224.3311+177.21%
AFLAFLAC INC388.8612+183.74%
APDAIR PROD & CHEMICALS41.6967+236.66%
ALLEALLEGION PUBLIC LTD28+481.52%
MOALTRIA GROUP INC413.4646-6.49%
AMGNAMGEN INC.2.0308+87.55%
AAPLAPPLE INC49.2296+98.82%
ADMARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLN186.6568+50.7%
BDXBECTON DICKINSON&CO23.0804+160.57%
BPBP PLC1719.6536-21.63%
AVGOBROADCOM INC5.1435+389.85%
CAHCARDINAL HEALTH INC63.7948+70.99%
CATCATERPILLAR INC75.6712+372.72%
CBCHUBB LTD9+120.18%
CLXCLOROX CO17.088+99.82%
CLCOLGATE-PALMOLIVE CO18.1141+96.49%
EDCONSOLIDATED EDISON83.6425+66.08%
DEODIAGEO PLC43.4425+70.45%
DOVDOVER CORP46.224+206.02%
EMBCEMBECTA CORP4+55.65%
EMREMERSON ELECTRIC CO83.4523+91.35%
GDGENERAL DYNAMICS CO10.0323+87.75%
GISGENERAL MILLS INC246.0845+34.18%
GILDGILEAD SCIENCES INC77.448+22.93%
GSKGSK PLC127+16.43%
HRLHORMEL FOODS CORP86.4188-4.88%
ITWILLINOIS TOOL WORKS58.4135+379.14%
JNJJOHNSON & JOHNSON78.0668+57.61%
JCIJOHNSON CONTROLS INT119+23.81%
KMBKIMBERLY CLARK CORP64.5251+44.65%
KTBKONTOOR BRANDS INC8+251.26%
KHCKRAFT HEINZ CO199.8724-34.45%
LEGLEGGETT & PLATT INC81.3102-23.21%
LYBLYONDELLBASELL INDS69.9458+34.81%
MCDMCDONALDS CORP33.4016+184.78%
MSFTMICROSOFT CORP16.6641+92.87%
MDLZMONDELEZ INTL32.1694+273.66%
PEPPEPSICO INC35.2787+117.61%
PFEPFIZER INC68.7134-17.16%
PMPHILIP MORRIS INTL155.58+24.84%
PGPROCTER & GAMBLE28.1907+113.96%
SOSOUTHERN CO170.9693+49.98%
SBUXSTARBUCKS CORP30.8957+7.1%
TROWT ROWE PRICE GROUP5.0463+60.82%
KOTHE COCA-COLA CO129.2195+79.66%
TTTRANE TECHNOLOGIES89+1,088.25%
UGIU G I CORP106-10.62%
ULUNILEVER PLC20.1576+22.35%
VZVERIZON COMMUNICATN219.1081+3.41%
VFCVF CORP78.442-50.91%
VTRSVIATRIS INC82.2306+29.92%
GWWWW GRAINGER INC14.0646+486.32%
YUMYUM BRANDS INC59.3087+347.95%

192 thoughts on “Portfolio”

  1. Thats a well diversified portfolio. And seeing that you are positive on most of your holdings, Id say you’ve been invested for a while πŸ™‚

    Best wishes…i’ll be following along on your journey

    Reply
    • Thank you for the support. I am very fortunate to be positive on every holding I own. I have started investing a long, long time ago, but in earnest with a focus on dividends and dividend growth since 2007. I can tell you there was a time when every holding I owned was in the red. My portfolio did not look so pretty in 2008 and 2009. However, I never sold one share of any stock I owned and kept adding to my positions during the dark hours. It’s easy to do, when you get paid to wait πŸ™‚ Thanks again for the support.

      Reply
      • DivHut,

        This looks like a really nice dividend machine you have built for yourself. I own a lot of the same companies you own too. It is funny how different dividend investors end up identifying and purchasing the same quality dividend paying stocks.

        Good luck in your dividend investing journey!

        Dividend Growth Investor

        Reply
        • Hi DGI,

          Quality attracts investment. While many of the dividend growth bloggers own a lot of the same companies, you’ll notice I really do not chase yield as I own no MLPs or REITs. I have built my portfolio over several years insisting on dividend growth rather than current yield. While my portfolio may not be the highest yielding among the dividend bloggers it does let me sleep well at night. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

          Reply
    • Hi GMS,

      I estimate the annual dividend for 2014 to be somewhere in the $2,200 range. Of course, depending on dividend increases/decreases/steady and my purchase of stock going forward this number may change. Glad you like the portfolio. It is one that allows me to sleep very soundly at night which is what I like. Of course it grew on it’s own with several spinoffs that came in recent years. ABBV, ALLE and MDLZ were all part of a spinoff so I never actually bought those shares. ABBV was spun off from ABT, ALLE was spun off from IR, MDLZ was spun off from KFT. The beauty of investing in high quality companies! Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply
  2. Nice portfolio! The cost basis and the fact that you have made a profit on every holding in your brokerage account is quite impressive. Clearly, you’ve made some great picks along the way. I too believe that discovering dividend growth investing was the turning point in our journey. Keep it up…Wishing you continued success!

    Reply
    • Thank you for the nice comment. Keep checking back every month and I will update the value of these holdings at the beginning of every month. FYI – it always wasn’t such a pretty portfolio. 2008 – 2009 saw a lot of red. I just kept investing and didn’t sell one share of anything during those dark days.

      Reply
  3. Wow! Great portfolio! You’re doing a wonderful job at picking stocks. Keep going! I can’t wait to have such a nice portfolio to post on my blog.

    Reply
    • Thank you for the nice words. Believe me, it will come. This did not happen overnight. My brokerage portfolio was started back in 2007 and over time grew to what it is today. Several of the companies I did not even buy but were a result of a stock spin off. Keep at it yourself. Would love to follow your progress too.

      Reply
    • Thanks for stopping by MDP. Always nice to hear some words of encouragement. I plan to add as much as I can each month. As you can see my portfolio is on the conservative side when compared to others I see in the dividend blog community. I am as hungry as the next guy for some yield but would much rather chase dividend growth than current yield. I may nibble here and there though on the likes of ARCP or other high yield REITS.

      Reply
    • PIM,

      Those companies in my portfolio are the steady “boring” stocks. Very average yield but it does help me sleep at night and that’s what counts too. I’m not against some of those high yieldings, I just would have far fewer than you do. Still, great to share portfolios and see what others are doing. Thanks for coming by.

      Reply
    • Hi AG,

      Thank you for noticing my portfolio. I probably have one of the more conservative portfolios out there among the dividend blogs. I’d rather focus on dividend growth/stability more so than current yield that many others look for. I’m not against MLP’s or REITS but for my long term dividend play I like what I have.

      Reply
  4. Nice! As everyone keeps saying, it’s impressive that you’re in the positive all around. I like all the good Dow dividend stocks you have here. I own many of the same. I love dividend stocks. Since you are such a great dividend investor, what are your thoughts on AT&T (T)? They have a crazy high dividend yield. Their balance sheet is a little shady. I don’t like their asset to liability ratio, but now that they are buying Direct TV, I am curious…though I invest in the company, not the stock, so the shady financials are an issue for me. Thoughts?

    Also, do you have your brokerage account separate because of the contribution limits or for another reason?

    Thanks for sharing your portfolio. It’s looking good!

    Reply
    • Hi Kalen,

      Without getting into too much detail about T (as I never really examined it closely), you can clearly see from my portfolio holdings that I am a heavy consumer staples/industrial sector type of investor. I know people love T’s nice dividend but I do not really invest in telcos/tech. I see them as the same sector. That being said T does look attractive from a current PE ratio standing at only around 10 while its peers are around 18. This would make T a decent value at today’s prices. Their payout ratio seems moderate so you can guess their dividend is safe with room for increases but as I mentioned before I haven’t looked at T’s financials really closely.

      My brokerage and ROTH are with the same company. I started with a regular account first then started the ROTH several years later. I think it’s important to take advantage of compounding dividends in a tax advantaged account but as you know with a $5,500 a year limit you can’t get too far. That’s why I have two accounts. Thank you for stopping by. Glad you liked my portfolio. Next week I plan to share my thoughts on some of the lesser known dividend growth stocks in my portfolio that most blogs never seem to cover.

      Reply
      • Thanks so much for the reply! You made some great points about T. Thanks for taking the time to respond about it even though it’s not really your sector. I feel about the same way. That’s what I figured about your brokerage and Roth. Make sense! You’re doing the right things, for sure.

        Reply
  5. Great blog and thanks for sharing your portfolio. I’m just getting starting in dividend investing but your blog is encouraging. Looking forward to your updates.

    I didn’t notice any of the big energy companies such as Chevron or ConocoPhillips. Any particular reason? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Hi DearDiv,

      I’m happy you are enjoying my blog and getting use from it. It makes me feel good knowing that I’m writing something meaningful to others. Regarding your question about energy stocks and my portfolio… I have constructed my dividend growth portfolio as a very long term (25 to 35 year out holding) with companies that ideally I would never sell. As such, you can see that I am pretty heavy in the consumer staples sector and industrial sector while being light on financial and energy. The primary reason for low/no energy in my portfolio is that I see those stocks as “trades” rather than long term holdings. These types of stocks are cyclical in nature and I do buy and sell those sectors. In other words “trades” for me means holding a stock 1 – 5 years give or take, while investing in a stock means 25 – 35 years give or take. That being said I am not against energy at all. I have owned and sold CVX, BP & TOT over the years. Energy is a great sector to be invested in just a little more volatile than consumer staples. I like low volatility in general and when the market tanked in 2008 – 2009 the consumer staple sector was “rocked” the least. Thanks for commenting!

      Reply
    • Hi DGJ,

      Thank you for the comment. I have built the portfolio over several years starting in 2007. As you can see it is conservative by many dividend blogger standards focusing more on dividend growth rather than current high yield with MLPs or REITs. Keep checking back for my updates.

      Reply
  6. DivHut,
    Do you have a 401k available? I know that not everyone has that opportunity, and that some 401k-s don’t allow the purchase of stocks. I have been fortunate to have one that allows stocks to be bought with only a $9.95 commission. Because of that, I have maximized my 401k and my wife and my Roth IRAs. I did have an after tax account that I used to fun our IRAs for a couple of years.

    Nice portfolio. We hold 13 stocks in common. I would love to pick up CL, MDLZ, MMM, and VFC on a pull back such that the P/Es are less than 20.
    Good luck!
    KeithX

    Reply
    • Hi KeithX,

      No 401k for me. In fact, I never set one up being self-employed since college. I did set up a retirement account though and had my regular taxable trading account for a while. I have been religious in maximizing contributions for my retirement account since it as set up and hope to continue that.

      Glad you like my portfolio. From what I have seen online among the blogging community I think mine is the most conservative as I hold no MLP’s, REITs or other very high yield stocks. I’m very heavy in the consumer staple and industrial sectors as you can see and would love to buy a lot more but as you know the PE’s for many great dividend stocks are just insanely high. I still invest every month but it is very difficult finding a place to park your cash these days. Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
      • I don’t have a website, but FWIW, here is my portfolio:

        Symbol Name % of portfolio
        PEP PepsiCo 3.9%
        CVX Chevron 3.6%
        PG Proctor & Gamble 3.5%
        AAPL Apple 3.5%
        KMI Kinder Morgan 3.5%
        JNJ Johnson & Johnson 3.4%
        SBUX StarBucks 3.3%
        MA MasterCard 3.2%
        T AT&T 3.1%
        UL Unilever 3.0%
        AFL Aflac 2.7%
        INTC Intel 2.6%
        KRFT Kraft 2.6%
        MAT Mattel 2.6%
        BDX Becton-Dickinson 2.6%
        TGT Target 2.6%
        COST Costco 2.5%
        KMB KimberlyClark 2.5%
        NKE Nike 2.4%
        GOOGL Google 2.4%
        BAX Baxter 2.4%
        BP BP 2.3%
        KO Coca Cola 2.3%
        PFE Pfizer 2.3%
        MCD McDonalds 2.2%
        VZ Verizon 2.2%
        CSCO Cisco 2.1%
        SO Southern 2.0%
        DIS Disney 1.8%
        WFM Whole Food Market 1.8%
        KSS Kohls 1.7%
        NOV Nat Oilwell Varco 1.7%
        WMT Walmart 1.7%
        HCN Health Care REIT 1.4%
        CMG Chipotle 1.3%
        GIS General Mills 1.2%
        GE General Electric 1.2%
        V Visa 1.1%
        MKC McCormick 1.1%
        HSY Hershey 1.1%
        CLX Clorox 1.0%
        PNRA Panera 1.0%
        O Realty Income 1.0%
        SDRL SeaDrill 0.9%
        ARCP American Realty 0.8%
        DIA SPDR Dow Jones 0.5%

        Reply
        • Thanks for sharing. We have quite a few names in common. I see you have some REITs thrown in for good measure as many of the bloggers do. I know I’ll have to jump in the REIT/MLP space too.

          Reply
  7. Nice portfolio DivHut! We have a lot of same names as you said but there are some such as ALLE, BCR and BMS that I’m not familiar yet. Have you always followed the DGI strategy or are some maybe remains from times before DGI (as I also have in my Nordic portfolio)?

    Reply
  8. I always like to see how others are doing in their stock portfolio. Nice major gains in your portfolio. I don’t think I saw one in the red! Do you buy/sell? Or are you more of a long term holder?

    Reply
    • Hi PC,

      I can’t complain about my current portfolio. I have to say I think it is more conservative than most bloggers I have seen as I do not hold any high yield MLPs or REITs. I would definitely say I am a buyer of stock much more than a seller and am in it for the very, very long haul. Thanks for your comment.

      Reply
    • Hi J,

      Thank you for the compliment regarding my portfolio. As you can see I have a pretty conservative portfolio compared to many of the dividend bloggers online as I own no MLPs or REITs. I recommend most should start with a portfolio of solid, core dividend growers like the ones you mention. Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  9. Thank you DivHut for sharing your portfolio!

    You have built a solid long term porfolio. I already have some of your holdings, and most of them are in my watch list. Currently, Canadian stocks are my 80% in my porfolio, but I am planning to bring down the percentage to 40% near future.

    Reply
    • Hi FJ,

      Thank you for commenting about my portfolio. It’s something I have built over several years going back to 2007. As you can see, it is conservative by any measure, no REITs, MLPs, tech or energy stocks to speak of. I have to say that even this “boring” portfolio has been fun watching it grow with several stock splits and spin offs (ABBV, MDLZ, ALLE) occurring over the years. I’m not against REITs or MLPs, I just feel they require a lot more attention. Regarding the Canadian stocks, I just wrote about some pretty amazing long term dividend payers and was very surprised to learn about some of the amazing Canadian banking stocks that exist. I think I need to seriously consider that sector.

      Reply
      • It’s interesting that you guys mention Canadian banking stocks as I’ve been looking at BNS, BMO, and RY. I too haven’t bought any REITs yet but I am considering HCP, UHT, and OHI in the future.

        As for the technology sector, I haven’t bought any as I personally think that most (not all) are over priced right now. Although in the future, I am looking to purchase INTC, AAPL, MSFT, and IBM.

        I recently started my portfolio and most of my holdings are in the industrials, materials, and consumer staples. Out of the three, I find the industrials and materials to be the best bargains right now.
        Dividend Liberty recently posted…Walmart Plunges Nearly 10%My Profile

        Reply
        • Hi DL,

          Over time you will find great values in various sectors. I remember, not that long ago, many in the dividend blogging community were lamenting the fact that there were no bargains to be found. Everything was trading at relatively high multiples and it was a challenge to find a place for fresh capital. Then in mid 2014 oil crashed along with many other commodities. Suddenly deals and yield were to be found as many jumped into the sector. Financial names, especially the large Canadian banks followed suit and recently the industrial names too. Be patient. A good deal is never too far along. You mention many great names and if you’ll follow my journey you’ll see that most of my buys are what I consider “nibbles” instead of gorges. Thank you for commenting.

          Reply
    • Hi DD,

      Thanks for your suggestions regarding my portfolio. I have thought about adding the items you mention but wanted to stick to the basics of my portfolio when I started this blog. Perhaps sector diversification might be a good thing add for now. Thanks for your input!

      Reply
    • Hi FF,

      I have built this portfolio over many years. The only thing to focus on is being consistent by buying every month, if you can, and invest only in high quality dividend payers. After a few years you’ll be able to look back and see the growth in your own passive income stream. Thank you for the words of encouragement.

      Reply
    • Hi petrusko,

      Thank you for the compliment regarding my portfolio. I have been building it up very slowly since 2007. It is mostly consumer staples and industrial (about 40%) sectors and recently I added three new Canadian banks to my ROTH which I’ll update in September. Thank you for stopping by.

      Reply
    • Hi DD,

      Happy to share and glad that my portfolio is giving you some investing ideas. I just published a post highlighting the sector allocation of my portfolios so you can easily see which industries I am investing in. Thank you for stopping by.

      Reply
  10. DivHut,

    congratulations! I like all of the companies I recognise looks like well built income portfolio.
    The balance is quite impressive as well. You will hit the 6 figures soon and the dividends you receive will make a continuously growing positive impact on your finances.

    Well done

    Reply
    • Hi GI,

      Thank you for your words of encouragement regarding my portfolio. I have been building it since 2007 and was focused more on dividend growth rather than just current high yield which is why I do not own any REITs or MLPs yet. I’m open to adding those investments but they will account for a smaller portion of my portfolio as a whole. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi TSAC,

      These days many brokerages allow for the purchase of fractional shares. In this way you are able to make much smaller dollar unit buys since you are not required to buy full shares. This way, I can spend $50 and buy half a share of something that’s valued at $100. Brokerages such as Sharebuilder or Loyal3 allow for fractional share purchases. I’m sure others do as well. Thank you for stopping by and asking your question.

      Reply
    • Hi FRD,

      I reinvest every dividend distribution I receive into new shares. So, if I happen to own a stock that has dipped below my buying price, then yes, I am able to reduce my cost basis with the dividends received. There are times I have been able to average down with the addition of new shares, but mostly, as you can see from my portfolio, I am averaging up with my dividends because almost every holding I have is positive. Thanks for you question.

      Reply
    • Hi TEG,

      My portfolio has been built over several years and has grown in part because of stock spin offs as well. That being said, before I decide to make a purchase I’d say I spend just an hour or two reading over histories, charts, income sheets, random articles and opinions before considering a stock. I also do not buy right away. I might follow a potential pick for several days, weeks or even months before I actually buy. 2014 was the first time in many, many years that I added new positions to my portfolio as well so as you can see I don’t “trade” often. These days I’m more in maintenance mode and probably spend no more than a couple hours a week looking at my stocks.

      Reply
  11. Hello DivHut:

    As you know, I am an investor from Spain and I have some USA shares. Your portfolio is great and you have some incredible prices as KO for example (28,69 $ wowww!).

    I hope I will buy more shares, but I think it is a bit expensive for now,

    Nice blog and I am going to read it every weeks.

    Greets from Spain,

    ClassicCo

    P.D. Excuse me for my English, I am studying and improving it πŸ˜‰

    Reply
    • Hi CC,

      I am very happy to have a visitor from Spain comment. Your English is just fine by the way. I have spent some time in Ibiza a few years ago. I had a great time there too by the way.

      My portfolio has been built up over many years and slowly I have been adding to my shares over the years each and every month. These days, it seems that many of the companies in my portfolio can be considered overvalued and as such I have been very choosy in terms of where I am adding new money. KO and many other names can be considered expensive but sometimes you pay a little extra for high quality names. Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I hope to hear from you again soon.

      Reply
    • Hi youngdiv,

      I have built my portfolio to be relatively stable with not that much volatility. That’s why you see my largest sector holdings are in consumer staples and cyclical industrial names as well. Not that I’m against either, but you don’t see any high yield REITs or MLPs as well. I think that many of the dividend bloggers focus too much on current yield and monthly dividend income rather than lower yielding growing dividends. As I have commented to many before regarding oil, I’d rather sit on the sidelines and miss the bottom and average up in my holdings instead of constantly averaging down. Think of all the pain many of the dividend bloggers experienced buying into CVX, XOM, COP, BBL, BP NOV, etc. in the last month or two. I have quite a few energy names on my watch list so we’ll see when I finally decide to take the plunge. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi Retiredat50,

      Thank you for the kind words. I might have one of the more conservative and lower yielding dividend portfolios among the dividend bloggers out there, but it does let me sleep well at night. I focus more on growing dividends rather than current yield. That’s why you don’t see high yield MLPs or REITs in my portfolio, at least for now. I have a few on my watch list. On average I’d say I have about $2,500 a month set aside for new purchases. Of course, this figure is not set in stone and sometimes there are those rare months when I make no purchases at all. I appreciate you stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
  12. Wow your portfolio appears to be solid and has been grown very well. I don’t see energy stocks and I think you made a right decision especially oil prices being extremely low lately. Interesting strategy that is working very well at this point. My oil stock is hurting now haha. Keep up the great work.

    Cheers,

    BeSmartRich
    BeSmartRich recently posted…Net Worth Update- January 2015 +7.1%My Profile

    Reply
    • Hi BSR,

      When I set out to be a long term dividend income investor I essentially was looking to build a very conservative and less volatile portfolio which is why consumer staples are my largest sector holdings. I did not want any energy nor tech names as the volatility and long term uncertainty made those sectors less favorable in my eyes. That being said, I do have some energy names on my watch list and I still may add some exposure down the road as prices remain very depressed. I wouldn’t worry too much about your oil holdings. If you have some solid names like CVX, XOM, TOT or BP even you should come out just fine in several years as oil always swings from one extreme to another. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi CI,

      I have been building this portfolio for many years and for the most part it’s complete. I like a lot of consumer staples as you can see because of their relative stability through good times and bad. Watch for valuations and make sure to stay consistent when being a dividend investor. Thank you for the words of encouragement and I look forward to following your progress as well.

      Reply
  13. Great portfolio. I really like how you show your total upside for each stock. You have done a great job of capturing dividends while still buying stocks that have great per share price increase. Your cost basis to market value looks fantastic. Keep up the great work.
    Dividend Dreams recently posted…My Ford Tough PortfolioMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi DD,

      Thank you for the kind words regarding my portfolio. While capital appreciation is definitely nice and welcome I aim to continually increase my passive income generated by this portfolio as my primary goal. My cost basis is low for many of the names because I never sell. Even if my portfolio dips into the red, which it had back in 2009, I did not panic and sell at a loss. I simply continued to invest at those lower prices/valuations and averaged down. Thank you for your continued support and comment.

      Reply
    • Hi EL,

      Thank you for the kind words. Like all three names you mention but not at current levels. SO like D and ED have been on a tear the last year as many have sought a safe haven in the utilities. Seems quite expensive right now. If Mr. Market gives us some dips in GE and EMR I may be right behind you in adding to my holdings too. Thank you for stopping by.

      Reply
  14. I have a diversified 401k plan, but I’m interested in starting a dividend portfolio. How should I go about selecting the right brokerage firm? There are so many to choose from. I have very little money to invest (gotta start somewhere though!). I don’t want to have all of it eaten up by investment fees. I would love a nudge in the right direction.

    Reply
    • Hi NTI,

      Finding a brokerage firm is a very personal choice. One has to determine a variety of factors that best suits their own needs. That being said, I can tell you that for my long term dividend growth portfolios I use Sharebuilder under the Costco plan that they have. I make my buys primarily using their automated batch purchases which comes out to $2 commission per trade. For real time buys the cost is a reasonable $5.95 a trade. I have been with them for many years and have zero issues with their site and trading platform. For someone that has little money to invest I would recommend you take a look. Another consideration I would take a look at is Loyal3. It seems to be quite popular among many of the dividend bloggers and is compelling because of their $0 commission and $10 minimum trades which sounds great for anyone starting out with very little money. Of course, they only offer about 60 companies total to choose from which is OK because they do offer many solid long term dividend stocks such as KO, PEP, KRFT, UL, VFC among others. I have never used them nor plan to but to answer your question I would take a look at the two brokerages mentioned. Thank you for stopping by.

      Reply
      • Thank you for your suggestions and very speedy reply! I will check out both. At 33, I need to get started in more than a 401k sooner rather than later. Passive income is where true freedom lies, and when it comes to compound interest and dividends, time is money. Again, thank you for the reply.

        Reply
  15. Hi there DH! I read you blog and actually I have to say that you were one of the inspirations to get me rolling on the dividend investing strategies, and lately to my very own blog. Keep up the good work! A huge “ciao” from Italy!

    Reply
    • Hi Stalflare,

      Thank you for the very nice compliment regarding my blog. I’m glad that you find value in what I write as well as my real world dividend portfolios that I update monthly. I think that you will find my portfolio on the more conservative side relative to others you might see online as I do not chase high yield nor load up on dangerous REITs, mREITs, MLPs and the like.

      Italy is awesome. I have family living in Milan and visited twice. I love to travel and freely admit that is my one expense that I’m OK with as I’m buying an experience instead of “stuff.” Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
  16. Hi DivHut,

    You don’t like to diversify to Europe and other Regions outside USA/Canada? Especially now that USA seems overvalued versus Europe.

    Kind regards,
    Dividend Fish
    Dividend Fish recently posted…About meMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi DF,

      Well, most of the American companies I own derive a lot if not most of their revenue overseas. Even though domiciled in the U.S., companies such as YUM, MDLZ, PM or AFL get most of their revenue from abroad so in a way are like foreign companies. Besides the Canadian banks that I own, TD, BNS and RY I also hold UL, DEO, ALLE and IR that are all European domiciled companies. And even in the U.S. there are still some companies that offer good value such as CB, TROW, HCP, WFC, CVX and XOM to name a few. Hope this answers your question. Thank you for stopping by.

      Reply
  17. DivHut,

    Did you hear the CB news? ACE is buying them out, what are your thoughts on the matter? I am long CB in my Roth, so I am happy about the cash and ‘lack’ of tax implications, though I do believe ACE is subject to a 35% Swiss withholding.

    – Gremlin
    Dividend Gremlin recently posted…Recent Buy, June 2015My Profile

    Reply
    • Hi DG,

      Yup, I sure did hear the news. In the past I have always taken no action when a company I owned was bought out, especially if it paid a dividend. My first inclination is to do nothing with this recent development. I’ll continue to hold my CB shares and once I receive the ACE shares they’ll remain in my portfolio for the time being despite the withholding tax. That being said, I would be in the market for another insurer similar to CB. I have been looking at TRV or maybe CINF. Once the deal goes through I’ll be making a more earnest search but the short answer is that I’ll be taking no action. Thanks for your question. What do you plan on doing?

      Reply
      • I am thinking of doing the exact same thing. Take the huge cash sum and hold the shares. Its in my Roth, so sadly that tax will be lost with little recourse, but if the company turns into a monster it might be worth it. ACE does have a good history and it is possible distributions and share price will rapidly rise because of their CB/ACE asset combo. I will likely use the cash coupled with whatever I have saved to acquire whatever is cheaply valued – I think I saw it will happen in July.
        Dividend Gremlin recently posted…Recent Buy, June 2015My Profile

        Reply
        • Hi DG,

          I know some dividend investors simply sell once an announcement like this is floated and simply take the rapid rise in share price and deploy the cash elsewhere. There is some logic to this as the company that you did research upon, liked and prompted a buy in the first place will no longer be around while a company such as ACE, which I never once considered will now find itself in my portfolio. But, I have found that with buyouts and spin offs it’s usually best to just hang on. I kept my ABBV, ALLE, MDLZ and HYH shares after they were spun off and simply took my BUD cash and bought other stocks when it was bought by InBev.

          Reply
    • Hi R2R,

      Thank you for your kind words. I have built this portfolio up over many years and my intent was to diversify among several different sectors that I feel comfortable owning. As you may have noticed I still do not own any energy nor tech companies yet. Not that I’m against them or anything. I have several energy names on my watch list it’s just that I’m not so fond of the volatility. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi DR,

      Thank you for your kind words. I built this portfolio up over eight years and for the most part I feel it to be very complete. I may add another new company or two here and there but not in the near future. I’d like to focus on my current holdings for now. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi Sam,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. I have built it up over the last eight years or so focusing on dividend growth stocks rather than simply chasing high current yield. Only in the last few months have I ventured into the REIT space focusing on the large health REIT plays. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
  18. This portfolio is really impressive, like I said on my blog you own some companies which I want to own in the future.

    By the way what do you think about Kellogg – K?

    Reply
    • Hi Andreas,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. It was built over many, many years and I have been quite happy with it’s performance and dividends that it produces. Regarding K, it’s not a stock I really follow but from a general perspective looks OK. It has a decent yield and a moderate payout ratio which means the dividend looks safe for now. Personally, in the consumer staples space I like other names like GIS or UL over K not that it’s a bad company/stock, just my personal preference. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi EF,

      Always appreciate hearing an opinion regarding my portfolio. I don’t plan to tap my dividend income for a long time. I’d say somewhere in the fifteen to twenty year range. I have been self-employed since 1998 and plan to keep doing my own thing a while longer which allows me to reinvest all my dividends that come in. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  19. Wow nice portfolio! You weren’t kidding when you said that we shared a lot similar stocks. Great minds do think alike and my ABX is to your Homestake back from 1988, haha. I hope to one day achieve a portfolio such as yours one day! Also, very nice in showing the gains/losses as well as each individual fractional shares.

    One question I do have is that since I’m new to dividend re-investing and that I do like using (drip), do you have any tips when it comes to tax season? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi DL,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. It was built up over quite a few years and I even went through the dreaded Great Recession/market meltdown of 2008/09. Believe me, my portfolio was deep in the red but I held on to every stock and simply kept buying each month as I always have. The way I see it, as long as the dividends continue to get paid, I’ll be happy.

      For tax season, it’s quite easy to handle all the dividend reinvestments as it’s all automated online. My broker has a tool called GainsKeeper which shows all dividend reinvestments as well as if they are considered long term or short term investments. Put it this way, handling DRIPs has never been an issue.

      Reply
    • Hi lunsnegro,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. I have built it up over seven years or so buying into high quality dividend growers rather than simply chasing high yield. Congrats on starting your own DGI journey. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi HB,

      Thank you for your kind words. I’m pretty happy with my holdings. It’s not too often that I initiate new positions but I am open to any suggestions as well as maintain my own watch list of companies I’d like to add in the future. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi WS,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. It’s a work in progress for sure but as you can see I am not one to simply chase the unsafe high yields found in many MLPs, REITs, mREITs or BDCs. I would much rather build a long term dividend growth portfolio with lower yielding but safer and growing dividends to minimize any chance of a cut. Thank you for stopping by and commenting and please check back as I update my portfolio holdings and performance every month. I have nothing to hide and show my gains as well as my losses.

      Reply
    • Hi Tristan,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. For my taste, it looks quite complete as I’m not looking to add any new names for a while. I have my watch list that I update every month or so of potential new buys but for now I am focused on my existing positions. Thank you for the comment.

      Reply
  20. Impressive portfolio. Diverse and set for good growth. I just bought some more american stocks today and most of them are in your list. The dividend snowball is rolling. πŸ™‚

    Where are you going to invest mostly during 2016? Any special sector you are targeting?
    DividendBomber recently posted…Dagens inkΓΆpMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi DB,

      Thank you for your nice words regarding my portfolio. As you can see, I may not have the highest yielding portfolio but it is stable with lots of room for dividend growth. Many starting out on this journey get enticed with high yield stocks only to see those dividend cut or worse, eliminated.

      As far as where I plan to invest in 2016, I write a “road map” of sorts once a month which outlines my potential stock picks in the coming weeks. I always look for good value and yield and it can vary from month to month and sector to sector. This month, I am looking at beaten down industrial names, CAT, EMR, DOV and consumer staple ADM. I also have the large Canadian banks on my radar, TD, BNS and RY as they are all sporting some pretty high safe yield, low price and good value. 2015 was a tough year for the Canadian banks. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  21. Great portfolio. As a non US-citizen I wonder which three consumer staples companies you rank the highest?
    I want to buy into this group and would appreciate some ideas to start looking. The only one I have is P&G so far.
    /Daniel

    Reply
    • Hi Daniel,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. You ask a good question about the top consumer staples that are out there. While it’s hard to rank them one, two, three, I can tell you that these days, I like UL, GIS and DEO but as you can see from my portfolio I like many more names too including, KO, PEP, KMB, CL, CLX to name a few. It seems that the names in this sector rarely go on sale as their valuations always seem to be a little rich but I always say that sometimes you have to pay up for quality names. The consumer staples is my favorite sector which is why it’s my largest sector holding among all my portfolios. Thank you for your question.

      Reply
      • Thanks a lot! Great suggestions.
        I think I’ll start by watching the prices for UL, DEO and CL. I think they can be great additions.

        Reply
  22. Hi Keith,

    That is a well-diversified portfolio.

    Do you keep your positions for the long term (one year plus) or you trade moving in and out in early basis?

    Reply
    • Hi SMT,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. It’s one that allows me to sleep well at night which is what I am after. Every position you see in my portfolio I have held for many years, most going back to 2007. I do not plan to trade in and out of my stocks often. Since I became a dedicate dividend growth investor I have not sold one position. It’s not that I’m against selling, it’s just that it will be rare. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  23. Hi πŸ™‚ First of all congratulations on your portfolio.

    How are the dividends reflected on the table ? Are the gains displayed only from share price change ? If not, I’m having trouble to find how do you dilute the income dividends in the table.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Hi JC,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. It’s something that was built up over many years and it definitely lets me sleep well at night. You’ll notice no volatile energy nor tech. To answer your question, the gains/losses are inclusive of capital gains/losses and dividends reinvested. I do not separate my dividend income on my portfolio page. To see my individual dividend income per stock received you’ll have to go to my Dividend Income page. Hope this answers your question. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  24. I am feeling a little bit green with envy after viewing your Brokerage Account. From what I see you don’t own a single stock in that account that is in the “loss” territory. Kudos to you. You have my respect. My brokerage account, current value $185,700, is $28,630 in the red. In addition I sold stuff in 2015 for a $25,000 loss. RIght now I own 27 companies of which 15 are in the red (FSC, KKR, KMI, BX, DX, STWD, CYS, TICC, ARCC, TCAP, NTI, NMM). I was one of “those” you have written about who foolishly chased higher dividend yields and am paying the consequences for it. I came into investing with too little knowledge about how it worked and not enough self-discipline and or patience to educate myself. Every stock I own, I bought as a result of reading articles on financial sites like SeekingAlpha etc. which promoted them. I now call these people “spin doctors”. I suspect that the authors publish their articles much more for the fees they receive for them than for any altruistic guidance to their readers. It’s amazes me now how often they contradict each other. I didn’t notice that before. It’s amazing how we tend to see what we wish to see in the first place.

    Reply
    • Hi EP,

      I appreciate your kind words regarding my portfolio. I like to update my totals once a month being as transparent as possible highlighting all my gains and losses as well. One thing my brokerage account can show is that long term discipline can work when building out a dividend portfolio based on very solid long term players. While my end goal is to continually increase my passive income stream via dividends and not just capital appreciation, there is a certain satisfaction seeing almost all your holdings in positive territory. I always say that total portfolio value/gains/losses are not the key metric of my investment style as one hiccup in the market can knock a lot of gains into losses. You should have seen how red my portfolio was back in 2009. I can tell you that during that time I did not sell a single share of any stock. I continued to buy and average down every position I had. As you already know, the financial media, talking heads and financial sites change their opinion daily and can cultivate a lot of fear which often leads towards panic selling and locking in losses. If you still believe in your investments and nothing materially changed in their business models, stick with them. Sorry to hear about your losses but I guess learning first hand about what chasing high yield can do to a portfolio is a good lesson. The key to being a good long term investor is to have a lot of self-discipline, patience and consistency. Looking back, I’m very happy I did not panic during the market meltdown and held on to every position. Losing 50%, 60% or more is not easy to stomach, but the way I saw it was, we’ll still be drinking KO, PEP, still need to brush our teeth with CL or PG, still need medicine JNJ, etc. You get the point. Life goes on and as long as those dividends continued to get paid I was happy. In fact, out of my whole portfolio only two names cut their dividends during those difficult times, GE and WFC. I held on and bought more. Thank you for sharing your own investment experiences and some of your holdings too. One thing I can appreciate about our online investment community is the transparency and willing to share and discuss formally taboo financial topics. Thank you for your comment.

      Reply
  25. Great portfolio. I own a few but I don’t have the diversification yet you do. I only have about 20 stocks in my Retirement Portfolio right now. I have a few non-retirement as well but that is not something I publish yet. I will be increasing my Retirement stocks this month as I get new money in. Congratulations on building this assortment of income producers. I am sure it took patience and perseverance. I look forward to reading more about how you are doing this. Kudos!

    Reply
    • Hi Brian,

      Thank you for your kind words about my portfolio. It has been built up over many years and has seen some very rough economic times as well. With patience and not panicking about my paper losses I stayed the course and continued to invest in popular and good valued dividend growth stocks. I welcome you to DivHut and hope you find my posts and real world portfolios and buys educational.

      Reply
    • Hi DD,

      Thanks for noticing. Part of the reason I have those gains is because I did not sell when things went south. Believe me, there was a time when every holding in my portfolio was deep in the red. No panic selling for me… I just held on and kept buying more. Having a long term focus really helps put those down days, weeks, months in perspective. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi DD,

      Thank you for those kind words about my portfolio. It’s still a work in progress as I’d like to add some additional names from my watch list. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi anonymous,

      Good question. As you can imagine it varies from month to month but I would say that I have an average of $4,000 in cash on any given month. I almost never invest it all in any particular month with my buys averaging between $800 on the low end to about $3,000 on the high end. As you already know by following my blog I make sure to make at least one buy every month no matter where the market stands.

      Reply
    • Hi BHL,

      Thank you for those nice words about my portfolio. In time you can create a solid looking portfolio like mine. There are no secrets here as I update all my holdings once a month. It just takes time and a lot of patience to buy lower yielding dividend growers. Thank you for your comment.

      Reply
  26. Hi DivHut
    Long time reader of your blog, very nice Portfolio, I have many of the names you have, but I need your help on how
    you determined the cost basis of QCP!
    Thanks

    Reply
    • Hi Tayseer,

      Thank you for those kind words about my blog and portfolio. It’s much appreciated. To answer your question, “For U.S. federal income tax purposes, HCP intends to report that the fair market value of the QCP common stock distributed is $30.85. Accordingly, every HCP common stockholder who received a Distributed Share will have a tax cost basis of $30.85 per Distributed Share.” To read the full announcement click here. Hope this answers your question. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
  27. Hi DivHut,

    Thanks for commenting on my blog, and also, yes, I see we share some of the same companies. ThatΒ΄s good, but I see that you are not a big fan of REITs? Why is that?

    Also, I suppose you were at the same place as I am now once, the point where you are considering index investing vs DGI.

    I like to talk about investment, stocks and all that, but I have to be honest, itΒ΄s time consuming. And Time is the most precious thing we have, so at the moment, IΒ΄m twisted if I should do the DGI. What thoughts did you have? (
    Stockles recently posted…What are REITs?My Profile

    Reply
    • Hi Stockles,

      When I first built up my portfolio I focused exclusively on the “traditional” dividend growth stocks. That meant no REITs, BDCs or MLPs. However, as you will see in my IRA I opened up to the idea of REITs and started nibbling among several of the large health REITs. I am open to new investment ideas and will continue to watch my REIT holdings and add to them as I see fit. Actually, I just bought more CCP and initiated a position in LTC this month.

      For my long term investment dollars I am going the DGI route exclusively. Obviously, you have to figure out what you want from your investments as each person has their own unique situation. I like like DGI because it’s a long term strategy that builds up ones passive income stream and that is where my focus rests, income. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi Stockles,

      I have SBUX on my watch list for a while now. The reason it did not make my portfolio when I first started was because it did not pay a dividend at the time. It’s a definite consideration for my portfolio and others have suggested that I include it in baby DivHut’s portfolio too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

      Reply
  28. It would be interesting to see some additional information in future reports if possible. Specifically I’d love to see the dividend rate for each holding, and the average annual total return for each. I’ve seen some high dividend stocks with GREAT total returns, and I’ve seen a lot with sub-par total returns. I’m all about total returns. πŸ™‚ Thanks!
    Financial Coach Brad recently posted…How to estimate your social security benefits for retirementMy Profile

    Reply
    • Hi FCB,

      Thanks for your suggestion. I may do a separate post highlighting the dividend growth rates for each holding (or at least my best and worst dividend growers) and total return figures. For now, my portfolio page will just highlight my holdings and their gains or losses.

      Reply
  29. As Iook at your portfolio noticed large exposure to CAT. I think you should decrease it. They perform very very bad. Sales down, Net income down and even went to loss zone. You cannot expect dividend increase from loss generating comany. And its not a one year thing. I can bet that company will cut their dividends in 2-3y tops. Capex already cut in half, share buyback down to zero. Next will be dividend cut. I would suggest you to at least decrease the exposure πŸ™‚ Dont know why the price is up but I would realy suggest to quit now. But thats just a hunch. Maybe CAT will recocer. They are the #1 in construction machinery producer πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Hi Project2035,

      It’s true I own a lot of CAT between my taxable and ROTH account but overall I’m still quite comfortable with my total exposure to the stock. I added more to my holdings when the yield was around 4% which is why the position grew. I realize it doesn’t sport the safest dividend in my portfolio but it has been a good long time hold over the last decade and as you mentioned it’s still the largest heavy machinery maker in the world which gives it a certain advantage. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi Khaled,

      Thank you. My main focus is dividend income and not capital appreciation. That being said, my average return for my taxable account has been 16.32%, my ROTH account 12.92% and my IRA 5.11%.

      Reply
    • Hi Ming,

      My portfolio was built over many, many years and as you can see I skew towards the more conservative stocks rather than high yielding fantasy stocks. For now, I plan to add to my existing positions but I am open to adding new stocks every now and then. If something looks compelling enough I’ll probably buy it. Thank you for commenting.

      Reply
    • Hi FMM,

      Glad you can appreciate my real world portfolio. I update it once a month showcasing the good and ugly stocks I hold. Right now the REITs in my IRA are ugly which is why I’m buying more. Thank you for stopping by and commenting.

      Reply
  30. DivHut,

    Nice portfolio that continues to grow both capital and dividends quite nicely. As you’ve pointed a while back, we do have some overlap in portfolio holdings. You currently hold a few more than I do, many of which I anticipate picking up at some point in the future. Also, our portfolios are very similar in size. Keep up the good work!

    PIV

    Reply
    • Hi PIV,

      Thank you for your kind words regarding my portfolio. It has grown a lot over the years as stock spin offs added ten new holdings to my account. I still have not sold a single share since going the DGI route but that’s not a rule. I’m not against selling πŸ™‚ Keep building that passive income stream one share at a time.

      Reply
  31. Stopped by and like your holdings.
    Are you staying with GIS? If so,
    will you be adding at these levels?

    Thanks for sharing your portfolio.

    Reply
  32. Hi DivHut,

    could you add market value of your portfolios to your monthly dividend update? Otherwise, I always need to sum up your portfolio values for Income Heroes each month. πŸ™‚

    Keep on investing!

    Torsten

    P.S.: The market value did not change since last month

    Reply
    • Hi TT,

      The portfolio values are included on my portfolio page on the bottom. I only update that once a month and not with my monthly dividend income updates. Thanks for catching the error on my portfolio page. The page was updated but the tables were not. Now it is all up to date.

      Reply
  33. Hi this is impressive Portfolio my name is Luis I also have a Roth IRA and I am trying to build my retirement can you tell me how long it takes to build a portfolio like this? Also tell me more about dividend stocks and which one do you recommend? Thanks

    Reply
    • Hi Luis,

      Thanks for the comment. I can’t give out any formal stock picks or advice as I’m not a registered financial adviser but you can follow along on my blog and see what stocks I am considering or buying. My portfolio was built up over many, many years investing small amounts regularly. It’s all about consistency with dividend growth investing.

      Reply

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