Recent Buy - KMI; CSCO

I purchased 25 shares of Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) on 
6/4/15 for $40.2691 per share.

This purchase adds $48 to my annual dividend income, based on the current $0.48 quarterly dividend.

Kinder Morgan is the largest energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates approximately 84,000 miles of pipelines and 165 terminals. The pipelines transport natural gas, refined petroleum products, crude oil, carbon dioxide (CO2) and more. Kinder Morgan also stores or handles a variety of products and materials at their terminals such as gasoline, jet fuel, ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel.

Kinder Morgan is the largest midstream and the third largest energy company in North America with an enterprise value of approximately $130 billion.

Asset Map:

Kinder Morgan's large footprint of assets span North America.

View an enlarged map of all Kinder Morgan assets (in PDF).

I also purchased 1 share of Cisco Systems (CSCO) on 
6/4/15 for $28.65 per share. I've enrolled in the Flexible Reinvestment Program (FRIP) offered by Scottrade. Dividends received in this account will buy full shares of upto 5 securities. Currently I'm looking to buy only Cisco Systems at this time.

This purchase adds $0.84 to my annual dividend income, based on the current $0.21 quarterly dividend.

My dividend stock portfolio will pay $520.06 in dividends over the next 12 months.

Dividend Income Update - May 2015

Each month I will post dividends received to keep track of earned passive income. Opening a new position or adding to an existing position on a regular basis causes increases in income on a monthly or quarterly basis.

I've begun investing only since the last 8 months i.e. since Oct 2014 and I'm beginning to experience a wee bit of the snowball effect. Many a drop, makes an ocean.

May 2015 Dividends received 

• AT&T Inc. (T) - $9.40
• Apple Inc. (AAPL) - $15.60
• HCP, Inc. (HCP) - $13.00
• AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) - $9.18

Total dividends received during the month of May: $47.18.

I did not have dividend earnings in May 2014 and hence cannot do a %increase comparison.

One of my goals is to receive $400 in dividend income during this calendar year. I've now received $132.20 in the first 5 months. This is 33% of my goal. I've some catching up to do.I may not be able to meet my goal due to expenses later this year (expecting our 2nd baby and a trip to home country)

Thanks for reading!

Dividend Increases - Macy's

I track dividend increases for stocks that I own. 
A dividend increase means more money every quarter and therefore yearly. It translates to additional dividend income.

Macy's Inc. (M)
Macy's (NYSE: M) declared a 15.2% increase. The quarterly dividend increased from $0.3125 to $0.36 per share, or $1.44 annualized. 

The dividend will be payable on July 1, 2015, to stockholders of record on June 15, 2015, with an ex-dividend date of June 11, 2015.


Dividend Yield: 2.11%
Annual Payout: $1.44 (Paid Quarterly)
Payout Ratio: 30.6% (EPS: $4.71)
Dividend Growth: 4 years (Since 2011) 

I own 15 Macy's shares and hence my yearly dividends will increase by $2.85.
My dividend stock portfolio will pay $471.22 in dividends over the next 12 months.

Recent Buy - W.P.Carey Inc

I had approximately $1K sitting in my newly opened Roth IRA and decided to put the capital to use. The market was in the red and I couldn't resist!!

This is a new position and one that many have purchased in the recent past and is approx 14% off 1 year highs. 

I purchased 16 shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (WPC) on 5/6/15 for $62.99 per share.

This purchase adds $60.96 to my annual dividend income, based on the current $0.9525 quarterly dividend.


 My dividend stock portfolio will pay $468.37 in dividends over the next 12 months.

Jan-Apr 2015 Update

Dividends Received

Total dividends received during the initial 4 months were $85.02.


Purchases 

The following were the purchases made during the initial 4 months;

• $1,011.20 of Wells Fargo
• $1,010.50 of Johnson & Johnson
• $951.29 of Cisco Systems
• $1,033.74 of AbbVie Inc.
• $975.20 of HCP, Inc
• $976.17 of AT&T Inc. (Roth IRA)

Total new capital invested = $5,958.10

Dividend Increases

• JNJ 7.1% increase. Annual payout: $2.80 -> $3.00. 
• ABBV 4.1% increase. Annual payout: $1.96 -> $2.04.
• APPL 11% increase. Annual payout: $1.88 -> $2.08.
• FFIC 6.7% increase. Annual payout: $0.60 -> $0.64.
• WFC 7% increase. Annual payout: $1.40 -> $1.50.
• CSCO 11% increase. Annual payout: $0.76 -> $0.84.
• HCP 3.7% increase. Annual payout: $2.18 -> $2.26.

Annualized Dividend Income

As of today, my dividend stocks will pay $407.41 in dividends over the next 12 months.

New Roth IRA - AT&T

I opened my 2nd taxable account at Scottrade due to the following reasons: 

1. Lower fees as compared to TD Ameritrade
2. Flexible Reinvestment Program (FRIP) - This commission-free program allows an individual to  pool dividends from most dividend-paying equities in order to purchase full shares of up to five eligible securities of choice.

An initial allocation of $ 5K and I opened positions in 5 dividend paying companies.

Dividend Income: Increased by $173. 26)

Wells Fargo --> $28 (Annual Payout = $ 1.40)
JNJ --> $28 @ $2.8  (AP = $2.80)
CSCO --> $28.56 (AP = $0.84)
ABBV --> $36. 72 (AP = $2.04)
HCP --> $ 51.98 (AP = $2.26)


Roth IRA:
I opened a ROTH IRA at Scottrade, 1st week of April 2015. This was just in-time after much deliberation. I desperately wanted to take advantage of a 2014 contribution that I could make until Tax day on 15th April. I deployed only $2K since available investment is limited. A new-born is expected in August this year and I've had to have extra money parked in Savings and HSA.


I purchased 30 shares of AT&T (Symbol: T) on 4/17/2015 for $32.54 per share. 
This purchase adds $56.40 to my annual dividend income, based on the current $0.47 quarterly dividend.

I've got a $ 1K remaining in the Roth IRA and have plenty of free trades. I will make a couple of purchases shortly. Stay tuned!

This isn't a new position. Adding to the 20 shares that I purchased for my TD Ameritrade taxable account.

Initial Buys @TD Ameritrade

So, finally I mustered the courage to open a trading account. This was before the time I had known about Dividend Growth investing and the art of re-investing dividends. The brokerage house TD Ameritrade appealed due to the wide selection of investment choices and the fact that I could trade commission free for the first 60 days. 

The account was active on the 10th September 2014. This was a milestone day and event. I was eager to purchase stocks and make some money.

The following are my purchases from Sept - December 2014:


Apple Inc. (Symbol: AAPL)
Purchased 10 shares on 9/22/2014 for $101.80. I purchased an additional 10 shares after 3 days for $98.28 and another 10 shares on 10/16/2014 for $97.188. Cost basis for the 30 shares = $99.09.                   
 
Rite Aid Corporation (Symbol: RAD)                                          
Purchased 50 shares on 9/25/2014 for $5.33. Rite Aid dropped 17% due to lower guidance for FY 2015, despite beating earnings estimates. This has turned out to be a good buy.
 
AT&T Inc. (Symbol: T)                                                             
Purchased 20 shares on 10/01/2014 for $35.02. AT&T is a dividend aristocrat having increased its dividend payments for 30 consecutive years. 
 
The Walt Disney Company (Symbol: DIS)                                  
Purchased 10 shares on 10/22/2014 for $87.08. I purchased an additional 5 shares on 11/07/2014 for $89.19 and another 5 shares on 11/11/2014 for $89.63. Cost basis for the 20 shares = $88.24
 
J C Penney Company Inc (Symbol: JCP)
Purchased 25 shares on 10/27/2014 for $7.58. This has turned out to be a good buy.
 
Twitter Inc. (Symbol: TWTR)                                                    
Purchased 20 shares on 10/28/2014 for $42.57.
 
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (Symbol: BABA)
Purchased 5 shares on 10/28/2014 for $99.86. I purchased an additional 5 shares on 11/12/2014 for $115.75.
 
Macy's, Inc. (Symbol: M)                                                              
Purchased 15 shares on 10/29/2014 for $57.29.
 
Flushing Financial Corporation (Symbol: FFIC)                                    
This is an old-line New York state bank that offers a full complement of deposit, loan and cash management services through 17 branches in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Nassau County. The company derives the vast majority of its income from its $3.64 billion loan portfolio.  Purchased 50 shares on 11/12/2014 for $20.25.
 
My total investment during the time period was $ 9, 695.85. 
The current value of the portfolio is 10, 985.70.
Gain (%) = 13.30%

Would you have done any different ? This being my first allocation, I was firing on all cylinders and made quick purchases. I regret opening positions in BABA and FFIC.