Dividend Income – March 2015

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Update – Soon after publishing my March 2015 dividend income results, I realized there were additional changes to the Money Sprout Index not originally reported. The appropriate updates have been made.

The first quarter of the 2015 calendar year is complete and my dividend stocks have been working hard for the past 3 months. Day and night, these stocks are working to earn dividends that will help my family meet our long term financial goals.

My portfolio of stocks (also known as the Money Sprout Index) are working for my family – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if I stopped investing any new money today, the stocks I already own don’t ever stop working for me!

Here are my results for March, 2015 –

2015 March Dividend Income Results

March just happens to fall in the quarterly cycle when over half of the stocks I own in the Money Sprout Index pay a dividend. The good news is that I set a new all time high dividend record for a single month – surpassing $150!

This certainly was no surprise and I would have been disappointed if I didn’t set a new record. I can already plan that come June I will be talking about yet another new record. Then again in September and finally rounding out 2015 in December with yet another.

For reference purposes, I like to look back and compare my dividend totals from the same month over the past couple of years. This helps me see the growth of the Money Sprout Index and helps me stay motivated in meeting my goals.

Here are my dividend income earnings for the month of March from the past 3 years and my total for 2015 –

  • March 2012 – $55.11
  • March 2013 – $83.70
  • March 2014 – $105.29

March 2015 Dividend Income – $155.29
March 2015 Dividend Income – $168.33

As you can see from my previous years results, I have continued to see steady growth over the past 4 years – which is a great sign.

What a nice jump I saw in dividend income between this year and last. I was able to increase my March dividend income compared to last year by 59.8%! This just goes to show the power of all the new investment dollars (and compounding interest) working for me in the market. It really helps to see these increases as a way to see positive growth and show how my plan is working.

Here is the breakdown of dividend income (by stock) in March, along with the number of new shares added from DRiP –

  • Aflac Inc. (AFL) – $5.91 $9.03 (.10 shares DRiP and $3.12 cash Robinhood)
  • BHP Billiton (BHP) – $9.92 (no DRiP shares)
  • ConocoPhillips (COP) – $14.04 (.21 shares)
  • Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) – $22.23 (.37 shares)
  • Intel Corporation (INTC) – $11.42 (.09 shares DRiP and $3.12 cash LOYAL3)
  • Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – $12.26 (.12 shares)
  • Kellogg Company (K) – $1.30 ($1.30 cash LOYAL3)
  • McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) – $29.74 (.30 shares DRiP and $1.13 cash LOYAL3)
  • Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) – $10.29 ($10.29 cash LOYAL3)
  • Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) – $14.70 (.14 shares)
  • Target Corp. (TGT) – $11.25 (.14 shares)
  • Unilever (UL) – $.78 ($.78 cash LOYAL3)
  • Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) – $21.37 (.25 shares)

Note – All of my dividends I currently receive are reinvested into new shares of the same stock using DRiP – except those purchased through my LOYAL3 and Robinhood accounts.

New Capital Invested in March

As with every new month, I invested additional funds during March into new shares of stock. Several of the companies I bought were through ongoing monthly investment plans through LOYAL3 and Computershare. I also made a lump sum investment in a new stock to the Money Sprout Index – BHP (BHP Billiton). This will mark the first stock I own in the Materials Sector.

Here are the new investments I made in March –

  • $427.26 lump sum investment in BHP Billiton (BHP) – 9 shares
  • $50 automatic investment in Kellogg Company (K) – .81 shares
  • $50 automatic investment in Microsoft (MSFT) – 1.18 shares
  • $50 automatic investment in Unilever (UL) – 1.17 shares
  • $50 automatic investment in Verizon (VZ) – 1.01 shares
  • $25 automatic investment in WalMart (WMT) – .30 shares

During March, I continued all of my monthly automated investments through LOYAL3 that I made in the previous two months of the year. These include $50 investments in Kellogg Company (K) , Microsoft (MSFT), Unilever (UL), and a $25 monthly investment in WalMart (WMT).

I also made my monthly $50 investment in Verizon (VZ) through Computershare. Due to a slight glitch, I did not make my monthly $250 automated investment in Exxon Mobile (XOM) during the month. I am hoping to double up on my Exxon Mobile investment this month to get caught up.

Finally, I purchased 9 shares of BHP Billiton in a one time lump sum investment through Robinhood. To be honest, I actually purchased 8 shares in one transaction and another 1 in a second. The good news is that Robinhood is a commission free trading platform, so I could have placed 9 separate trades of 1 share each and not spent a penny on commission!

The total amount of new capital invested in March was – $652.26

Here are my new investment totals for the year –

  • January Investments – $475.00
  • February Investments – $1,067.30
  • March Investments – $652.26

New 2015 Investments – $2,194.56

12 Month Forward Dividend Income

Starting this month, I am going to begin tracking my 12 month forward dividend income. While this number does not guarantee any future dividends, it is a good indicator of how much income I will earn over the next 12 months.

The 12 month forward dividend income will increase month to month as a result of 3 different factors. The first is any time I add new shares of stock to the Money Sprout Index, my future dividends should go up. Second, any dividends that are reinvested back into new shares of stock through DRiP will increase my forward dividend income. Finally, anytime a company raises its annual dividend – I will see a spike up.

12 Month Forward Dividend Income (March 2015) – $1,239.21

I expect to see rapid growth each month going forward as I continue to invest new money into the market.

Final Thoughts

The dividend income earned in March ($168.33) from 12 stocks was my highest month ever! While I still have a long way to go to reach my 2015 goal to earn $1,500 in dividend income – this month was a nice stepping stone.

To date, we have earned a total of $299.93 in dividend income for 2015. At that rate, I would earn less than $1,200 in annual dividend income this year. Since my goal is to earn $1,500 this year, I have a lot of work to do over the next 9 months.

On a positive note, our 3-month rolling average continues to increase each month. The average of the past 3 months makes it easier to track month to month totals. During March, I was able to raise my 3 month rolling average to $99.98, which was an increase of $7.17. It won’t be long until I hit the triple digit mark!

How was your dividend income in March? What stocks are you buying in this market?

Full Disclosure – At the time of this writing, I owned shares in the following stocks noted in this post – AFL, BHP, COP, ED, INTC, JNJ, K, MCD, MSFT, NSC, TGT, UL, VZ, WMT and XOM. The material above is not a recommendation to buy. Please do your own research on a company before deciding to invest.

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