The dividends have continued pouring in for another quarter. I’ve again stayed on track with a steady investing cadence, making five stock purchases over the past three months.
Table of Contents
CAD Dividends
| Company | CAD Payments ($) | Div Increase (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) | 53.60 | 11.67 |
| RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (REI.UN) | 93.96 | |
| The Coca-Cola Company (KO) | 66.72 | |
| Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) | 74.09 | 7.14 |
| BCE Inc. (BCE) | 166.10 | 5.23 |
| Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) | 15.96 | 2.31 |
| Jean Coutu Group Inc. (PJC.A) | 42.15 | |
| Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. (CSW.B) | 50.60 | |
| Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) | 32.80 | 3.80 |
| TELUS Corporation (T) | 35.35 | |
| Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B) | 26.40 | |
| Fortis Inc. (FTS) | 46.75 | |
| Canadian Utilities (CU) | 53.10 | |
| Canadian National Railway Company (CNR) | 6.83 | |
| Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) | 3.38 | |
| Hydro One Ltd (H) | 46.00 | 4.55 |
| Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN) | 14.70 | 2.08 |
USD Dividends
| Company | USD Payments ($) | Div Increase (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Waste Management Inc. (WM) | 19.77 | |
| McDonald's Corporation (MCD) | 18.03 | |
| Yum! Brands (YUM) | 11.94 | |
| Yum China (YUMC) | 3.32 | |
| PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) | 15.78 | 15.22 |
| Walmart Inc. (WMT) | 13.26 | |
| Visa Inc. (V) | 1.79 |
Dividend Summary
The second quarter has shown grand totals of $828.49 CAD and $83.89 USD. Coming in at $912.38 in currency-neutral terms, this is easily the best quarter I have had thus far in terms of passive cash flow. The aggressive stance I have taken in terms of adding stocks through the first half of the year is beginning to pay off with increased payments from many of my companies.
Standouts
Having owned PEP since early 2015, the 15.22% dividend increase was both unexpected and quite welcome. It was double my previous highest increase with PEP.
TD provided a dividend bump of 11.67% this quarter which was the highest since the 2013-2014 period. This company has been outperforming the majority of its peers for years now and continues to differentiate itself from competitors both in Canada and the U.S.. Having already doubled my dividend yield-on-cost with TD, this is one I fully intend to stick with over the very long term.
I should also mention that PEP and WMT both have two dividend payments during this quarter and so the totals are inflated when considering on an annualized basis.
Quarterly Buys/Sells
BNS: I picked up two tranches of stock for a total or $3,186.70 and 40 total shares. Weakness in the price tempted me to continue doubling down on BNS. Based on the current quarterly dividend of $0.82 CAD, I am looking for this purchase to bring in $32.80 or $131.20 annually.
CU: I again used considerable price weakness to average down my cost basis in the company. I picked up 65 shares at a cost of $2,024.95. On the current quarterly dividend of $0.3933 CAD, I expect these purchases to generate $25.56 quarterly or $102.26 annually.
FTS: As with the above, relative price weakness afforded me the opportunity to average down in this dividend stalwart. I purchased 50 shares of FTS at a cost of $2,091.95. On the quarterly dividend of $0.425 CAD, I have this slated to provide $21.25 quarterly or $85.00 annually.
MRU: This was a net new purchase. This company acquired/merged as the parent with the Jean Coutu Group (PJC.A) which I previously held shares in. As a result, I decided to acquire a small stake in MRU which I likely otherwise would not have truly considered. Nevertheless, it is a solid grocery store franchise with pharmacy operations as well which tends to raise its dividend at a considerable clip.
I picked up 20 shares at a cost of $866.95. On the current quarterly dividend of $0.18, this should bring in $3.60 quarterly or $14.40 annually.
Quarterly Dividend Increase: From the five purchases in four stocks above, I have increased my annualized forward dividend income by $332.86. However, it is necessary to subtract out the dividend income loss from the sale of PJC.A stock which amounts to $118.04 annualized. Observed in net terms, my overall forward annualized dividend increase from the quarter works out to $214.82.
While my stated theme for this year per my Five Year Plan has been to focus on simply doubling down on the stocks I already own, the MRU purchase was truly just a swap from a company I already owned into the parent company that now houses it. Aside from this new company, my focus through the remaining two quarters of the year will continue to be buying what I already own and already know well.
Q3 2018 Stock Considerations
The utility sector continues to show signs of weakness. The rising interest rate environment tends to pose a threat to the share price of these companies and comes as a welcome sign to someone such as myself; lower prices mean higher dividend yields. Both CU and FTS have managed over forty years of consecutive dividend increases; they have shown the ability in the past to succeed in interest rate environments of all sorts. If they continue to offer up juicy dividends, I will not hesitate to continue acquiring.
Over the very long term, I am bullish on the Canadian banking sector in general. I previously chronicled the differences between the Big Five Canadian Banks back in 2015 and continue to hold a thesis that BNS is one of the best of the bunch. Subject to pricing, I am considering adding another 20 shares in the near future.
Cash Position
As I mentioned recently in my June 2018 Portfolio Update, my bank extended its 2.5% promotional rate on my savings to December 31. As a result, I continue to feel comfortable building my cash position while finding situational opportunities to acquire undervalued equities. I believe a cash position of even up to 30% can be warranted if value prices are difficult to find.
Conclusion
I have again had an acquisitive quarter in the markets. Five stock purchases bringing in well over $200 in net annualized dividend income adds more fuel to the dividend snowball I am rolling. I am actively looking for opportunities to continue investing as my cash position swells.
Heading into the second half of the year, it will be important to maintain my pace of investment to continue with the momentum I have generated.
Full Disclosure: Long TD, REI.UN, KO, JNJ, BCE, CM, CSW.B, BNS, T, RCI.B, FTS, CU, CNR, CP, WM, MCD, YUM, YUMC, PEP, WMT, V, CSH.UN, MRU
Hey, Ryan. The progress looks excellent. Lots of dividend raises this quarter, especially on the CAD side. I was able to enjoy the JNJ and PEP raises – that PEP raise was a monster for such a mature company.
I like your V holding, as I own some myself. I’d like to add to my position, but it appears quite pricey here. I’ll have to be patient and wait for a good pullback.
Keep up the good work… here’s hoping you can add another $200+ in annual forward dividend income next quarter.
Engineering Dividends recently posted…Dividend Poem for my 1-Year Blogiversary!
Hey ED,
Thanks for the support.
V is a name I’ve been wrong about for years. My brother picked it up a very long time ago and is up more than 500%. I told him it was too expensive at the time…. I was waiting for a pullback that never came and have now caved in and picked up a few shares. Like you said, I’d love to get some weakness in the price so I could double down.
Thanks for stopping by,
Ryan
I agree, an increase in dividends is an amazing thing.
Keep that forward dividend income increasing and we are winning at life.
Cheers
Buy, Hold Long recently posted…Half Year Net Worth – June 2018
Hey BHL,
It’s always a great thing seeing the increases in dividends. Thanks for stopping by.
Take care,
Ryan
People always think dividends are boring… but I love boring. It won’t turn heads but I love a good dividend increase and that yield gets bigger and bigger each year. 🙂
Jim Wang recently posted…7 Lessons from My Many Investing Failures
Hey Jim,
Absolutely. Dividend growth investing certainly doesn’t turn any heads at the dinner party. In fact, people are often far more likely to ask a few questions about how big your immediate returns could be and then be ready to move to another topic.
However, if you stay the course, the proof is in the pudding as far as long-range returns are concerned coupled with lesser volatility in comparison with the broader market.
Take care,
Ryan