2015 Dividend Income Results

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Overall, 2015 was a great year for our dividend income portfolio. Although we did not hit our goal for the year in dividend income earnings (short by $25), my wife and I continue to grow our stock holdings by leaps and bounds.

Here are a few highlights from the past 12 months.

2015 Dividend Income

As expected, we recorded our highest dividend income earnings during 2015 (December – $237.43). I anticipate we will continue to see this rising trend of new records about every quarter.

In total, we earned $1,475.00 in dividends paid out from 28 different stocks in our portfolio. This was an increase of $507.88 or 52.5% since last year (2014).

Here is a look at our dividend income over the past 5 years –

  • 2011 – $243.81
  • 2012 – $431.02
  • 2013 – $650.16
  • 2014 – $967.12
  • 2015 – $1,475.00

As you can see, we have steadily grown our dividend income each year since starting out in 2011. We expect to see similar growth in the future as long as we continue to invest new capital into the market.

New 2015 Investments

Since we are still in the allocation phase of building our income portfolio, we continue to be active investors of quality dividend stocks. During 2015, we invested $13,429.19 in a variety of dividend stocks. This was an increase of $5,381.78 from last years new investments.

New 2015 Investments – $13,429.19

Using our current yield on cost (4.53%), I am estimating this new capital increased our 12 month future dividend income by at least $608.

We had a goal of investing $10,000 in new money during 2015, which we surpassed by over $3,000! Our goal is to continue building on these totals by increasing our investments whenever possible.

Highest Monthly Total

As mentioned earlier, we set a new monthly record in dividend income. In December, we earned $237.43, which is our highest month ever! Prior to 2015, our highest monthly total was $146.82 (December 2014) – so you can see the growth our portfolio is experiencing.

December 2015 Dividend Income – $237.43

There is no reason why we won’t set a new record in 2016 and should push close to a $300 month for the first time.

Yield on Cost

Our yield on cost increased to 4.53% in 2015, up from 4.37% last year. This is a result of adding a few more high yielding stocks to the portfolio like O, OHI, and VZ.

Yield on Cost – 4.53%

3-Month Rolling Average

I like to track a 3-month rolling average when it comes to reporting dividend income. While it is important to keep track of monthly income earned each month, the rolling average accounts for fluctuations month to month. The fluctuations are a result of quarterly payout cycles dividend stocks payout on.

We ended 2015, with a 3-month rolling average = $143.86, up from $89.71 at the start of the year.

Final Thoughts

We finished the year with a portfolio of 28 dividend stocks that represent all 10 sectors. While the portfolio is not completely diversified across sectors and individual stocks, we feel that we have built a solid foundation that will weather any type of market.

How did your dividend stocks portfolio do in 2015?

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