March 2024 Portfolio Update – Catching Up

March dividend pot of gold
March 2024 pot of dividend gold

I’m playing a bit of catch-up on my monthly articles. Things became particularly busy in my personal life through the past few months, and it’s better late than never.

Dividend Summary

March pulled in income from 18 CAD sources and 7 USD. This is a healthy balance for my purposes, as I lean toward Canadian income.

CAD Dividends

CompanyCAD Payments ($)Dividend Change (%)
RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (REI.UN)24.142.78
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)102.54
Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. (CSW.B)10.50
Fortis, Inc. (FTS)115.05
Canadian Utilities Limited (CU)106.481.00
Canadian National Railway Company (CNR)38.036.96
Hydro One Ltd (H)77.06
Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN)5.10
Metro Inc. (MRU)6.7010.74
Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (BEP.UN)137.295.19
Brookfield Renewable Corporation (BEPC)62.635.19
Brookfield Asset Management (BAM)2.5718.75
Brookfield Corporation (BN)2.3714.29
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (BIP.UN)79.695.88
Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation (BIPC)19.795.88
A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund (AW.UN)11.20
Enbridge Inc. (ENB)22.883.10
Saputo Inc. (SAP)5.55

USD Dividends

CompanyUSD Payments ($)Dividend Change (%)
Waste Management, Inc. (WM)31.887.14
McDonald’s Corporation (MCD)29.81
Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM)22.2210.74
Yum China Holdings, Inc. (YUMC)5.3123.08
Visa Inc. (V)6.63
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)8.29
Meta Platforms Inc (META)1.70

Dividend Earnings Totals

I earned C$829.57 and U$105.84, coming together for a solid currency-neutral total of $935.41. Last year had some irregular timing of dividend payments, so it isn’t possible to give a true representation of the YOY growth. All the same, the like-for-like payments increased, demonstrating progress in the portfolio.

The highlight of the month was the first payment from META. While only U$1.70, it represents an overall trend in the tech industry with the large and dominant companies beginning to mature and thus share profits with shareholders directly (i.e., not just via buybacks which often only cover up dilution).

Year To Date Progress

With +$1,8k earned through the first quarter of the year, this works out to ~$600 monthly. I love putting this in real terms, and thinking about how if I needed it, this could cover a monthly vehicle payment:

MonthDividends ($)
January746.46
February132.57
March935.41
Total1,814.44

I’m looking forward to seeing this monthly figure rise as the year shapes up.

Market Activity and Cash

I didn’t pull the trigger on any investments in March. Rather, I let cash accumulate as dry powder. While I do intend to make a fair number of purchases this year, I don’t like to buy just for the sake it.

Conclusion

Finishing March at a pace of over $600/month is representative of the long journey it has taken to come this far. While most people worry about inflation in the system, I believe the best antidote is to hold a healthy cross-section of the economy in my portfolio and let the dividends do the work.

I have every reason to believe that the cash flow will continue rising in the months and years to come.

Full Disclosure: REI-UN, KO, JNJ, CSW-B, FTS, CU, CNR, H, CSH-UN, BEP-UN, BEPC, BAM-A, BIP-UN, BIPC, AW-UN, ENB, SAP, WM, MCD, YUM, YUMC, V, MSFT, META

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