Where did December go? It feels like we just finished November and now here we are with our December 2023 dividend portfolio update! To be honest, we are happy to have these months start moving quickly. Winter is the worst part of RV life and we have a lot going on. We also have a lot to look forward to in 2024. If you haven’t see our previous post check it out here.
The markets continued to breakout higher in December. This move, along with some steady contributions, helped our dividend portfolio to close 2023 at an all time high. On the surface this looks great, however when we dig into our individual positions we hold a lot of 2023 laggards. The pessimistic view is that we underperformed the market. This was mostly because of our REIT holdings which had a rough year.
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Not to worry, because this years dogs can often become next years winners. So we will take the optimistic view that we were able to add shares of quality companies at low prices. When these companies gain traction in the markets again we will enjoy watching our portfolio benefit.
Let’s check out our December 2023 dividend portfolio update numbers!
Our Dividend Portfolio Month Ending December 2023:
| Symbol | Company | Quantity | Change From Prior Month |
| ABBV | ABBVIE INC | 14.347 | – |
| ABR | ARBOR REALTY TR REIT | 33.296 | 1.084 |
| BKH | BLACK HILLS CORP | 4.2867 | 0.0497 |
| DOW | DOW INC | 10.1589 | 0.1369 |
| EPD | ENTERPRISE PRODS PART LP | 5.208 | – |
| FRT | FEDERAL REALTY INVT TR REIT | 6.45 | – |
| GIS | GENERAL MILLS INC | 5.372 | – |
| IBM | IBM CORP | 3.3826 | 0.0336 |
| IRM | IRON MTN INC NEW REIT | 13.427 | – |
| JEPI | JPMORGAN EQUITY PREMIUM INCOME ETF | 13.4205 | 0.0955 |
| JNJ | JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 6.4162 | 0.0482 |
| K | KELLANOVA | 2.1875 | 0.0225 |
| KHC | KRAFT HEINZ CO | 5.477 | – |
| KMB | KIMBERLY CLARK CORP | 2.166 | – |
| KO | THE COCA-COLA CO | 2.1727 | 0.0167 |
| MAIN | MAIN STREET CAPITAL | 12.1424 | 0.0654 |
| MMM | 3M CO | 9.8668 | 0.1438 |
| MO | ALTRIA GROUP INC | 14.4295 | 0.4725 |
| MPW | MEDICAL PROPERTIES REIT | 17.498 | – |
| O | REALTY INCOME CORP REIT | 12.1303 | 1.0493 |
| QYLD | GLBL X FND GLB X NSDQ 100 CVD ETF IV | 34.5545 | – |
| SCHD | SCHWAB US DIVIDEND EQUITY ETF | 16.4925 | 3.1455 |
| SO | SOUTHERN CO | 2.2173 | 0.0243 |
| SPTN | SPARTANNASH CO | 6.511 | – |
| T | A T & T INC | 17.272 | – |
| VICI | VICI PROPERTIES INC | 7.088 | – |
| VTRS | VIATRIS INC | 21.6394 | 0.2524 |
| VZ | VERIZON COMMUNICATN | 3.096 | – |
| WBD | WARNER BROTHERS DISCOVER | 3 | – |
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORP | 5.442 | 0.0520 |
In the month of December we received dividend payments from BKH, JNJ, JEPI, SO, DOW, XOM, IBM, MMM, SCHD, K, VTRS, KO, MAIN(x2), O, KHC and SPTN. Our dividend payments for the month totaled $77.28. All dividends received have been or will be reinvested back into the underlying positions.
As we mentioned before Schwab reinvests dividend the next business day. So on the first trading day of December we had a reinvestment for ABR dividends that were received in November. Additionally, on the first trading day of January the dividends received in December from KHC and SPTN will be reinvested. Not ideal, but it is what it is.
In the month of December we continued our plan of adding to our position in SCHD (3) with each paycheck. And since we got three paychecks in the month we were able to add three shares. Additionally, we added a share of O (1) and then used Schwab slices to add a fraction of a share to our position in MO (.4725).
In 2023 we received dividend payments totaling $722.64. This was a 39.55% increase over our total dividend payments for 2022. On a year over year basis our dividend distributions grew 34.24% for the month of December. Obviously we are very happy with the growth of our portfolio and hope to continue to build on these numbers in 2024.
| Stock | December 2022 | December 2023 | YOY Growth % |
| BKH | $1.94 | $2.65 | 36.60% |
| DOW | $6.66 | $7.02 | 5.41% |
| IBM | $5.27 | $5.56 | 5.50% |
| JEPI | $5.08 | $5.20 | 2.36% |
| JNJ | $6.99 | $7.58 | 8.44% |
| K | $1.23 | $1.21 | -1.63% |
| KHC | $2.10 | $2.19 | 4.29% |
| KO | $0.92 | $0.99 | 7.61% |
| MAIN (m) | $2.99 | $6.18 | 106.69% |
| MMM | $10.84 | $14.58 | 34.50% |
| O (m) | $1.30 | $2.84 | 118.46% |
| SCHD | $3.54 | $10.65 | 200.85% |
| SO | $1.43 | $1.54 | 7.69% |
| SPTN | $1.32 | $1.40 | 6.06% |
| VTRS | $1.22 | $2.57 | 110.66% |
| XOM | $4.74 | $5.12 | 8.02% |
| Total | $57.57 | $77.28 | 34.24% |
As you can see we had some really nice year over year growth for December. Most of these positions are natural growth as we haven’t added shares to most of them in awhile. The only exception is K which decreased due to the spinoff and dividend adjustment of WB Kellogg.
Of note is the nice jump in our dividends for SCHD, O and VTRS. It looks like adding shares to SCHD at a steady pace is already paying off! O and VTRS are companies we added to at low prices and are now seeing some nice return. Hopefully VTRS continues to following their stated goal of paying down debt and returning more equity to shareholders. Their dividend payout ratio is insanely low so as they get their financial house in order we look for this position to start increasing dividends at a steady pace.
At the end of December 2023 our dividend portfolio was valued at $15,200. This is a 7.91% increase from month ending November 2023 and another new high.
| Month | Portfolio Value | MOM % Change |
| November 2023 | $14,086.37 | 7.91% |
| December 2023 | $15,200.20 |
On a year over year basis our dividend portfolio value increased by 19.87%! While this is great and an all time high the overall performance of the underlying positions underperformed the markets. Again, this as mostly due to our REIT positions and MMM having a rough year. Hopefully these dogs will hunt in 2024.
| Month | Portfolio Value | YOY % Change |
| December 2022 | $12,680.53 | 19.87% |
| December 2023 | $15,200.20 |
With the additional shares added and the reinvestment of all dividends received our portfolio will now provide projected annual dividend income (PADI) of $837. This is just under $70 per month on average and an $18 per year increase from last months update. Additionally, our yield on cost (YOC) decreased by 0.03 to 5.59%. This decrease is attributable to our focus on adding to our position in SCHD which yields 3.62%. Obviously we will take the quality of SCHD over maintaining a higher YOC.
With our 2024 goal of achieving the $1,000 now set we will have some work to do. Investable income was hard to come by for most of 2023 and we don’t see that changing in 2024. Our work-camping jobs give us a chance to get ahead and purchase shares of SCHD on a regular basis. Once we finish our commitment in April the steady buys will end and we will need to find another way to fund purchases. We will probably be back in a house not too long after that as well just to add another layer of financial fun. No matter what, 2024 is going to be an exciting year and we can’t wait to get it going!
Thank you for taking time to read our December 2023 financial update. Also, thank you for following our blog. We wish everyone good health and growing wealth heading into the new year.
Happy Investing!
Joe
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