As I'm writing this blog post, fall just started a couple days ago and September will be over in less than a week. It won't be long before we'll need to set our clocks back an hour here in Central Wisconsin and it'll be dark by 5 PM.
That means it's time to talk about the eight dividend increases that I received in September. I accidentally lumped in Visa (V) with expected September dividend increases despite the company routinely announcing its dividend increases in October (not sure how that happened!).
Even though I'm only expecting three dividend increases for October, the month should still be a nice boost to my portfolio.
Actual Dividend Increases in September
Dividend Increase #1: Realty Income (O)
The only monthly paying Dividend Aristocrat, Realty Income delivered with a 0.2% increase in its monthly dividend from $0.2355 per share to $0.2360 per share. This was once again perfectly in line with my prediction from last month in the previous post of this series.
Across my 13 shares of O, my net annual forward dividends ticked up by $0.078 due to the stock's dividend increase.
Dividend Increase #2: W.P. Carey (WPC)
Another real estate investment trust in my portfolio that managed to meet my expectations was W.P. Carey. The REIT upped its quarterly dividend 0.2% from $1.05 per share to $1.052 per share.
My net annual forward dividends edged up $0.056 across my seven shares of WPC as a result of its dividend increase.
Dividend Increase #3: Philip Morris International (PM)
Philip Morris International was the third dividend increase in my portfolio to meet my expectations, with the tobacco giant boosting its quarterly dividend 4.2% from $1.20 per share to $1.25 per share.
Across my 13 shares of PM, my net annual forward dividends were boosted by $2.60 due to the payout increase.
Dividend Increase #4: Lockheed Martin (LMT)
Lockheed Martin was the fourth dividend increase of September, which also met my expectations. LMT raised its quarterly dividend 7.7% from $2.60 per share to $2.80 per share.
Since I added a share of LMT to my portfolio days before the dividend increase, my net annual forward dividends spiked by $3.20 across my four shares of the stock as a result of the dividend increase.
Dividend Increase #5: STORE Capital (STOR)
STORE Capital is the fifth dividend increase of September, but unlike the previous four, the stock exceeded my expectations with its dividend increase.
Whereas I was expecting a 5.6% increase in the quarterly dividend, STOR actually announced a 6.9% increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.36 per share to $0.385 per share.
Across my 19 shares of STOR, my net annual forward dividends increased by $1.90 due to the dividend increase.
Dividend Increase #6: Verizon (VZ)
Verizon was the only stock in my portfolio during the month that fell a bit short of my expectations, announcing a 2% increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.6275 per share to $0.64 per share. This was a tad less than the $0.645 per share quarterly dividend that I was expecting, but I can't complain that much as VZ continues to bring 5G to customers across the U.S.
My net annual forward dividends advanced by $0.90 across my 18 shares of VZ as a result of the dividend increase.
Dividend Increase #7: American Tower (AMT)
The second dividend stock in my portfolio to beat my expectations was American Tower.
While I anticipated a 2.4% increase in the quarterly dividend, AMT announced a 3.1% increase in its quarterly dividend from $1.27 per share to $1.31 per share.
This dividend increase helped my net annual forward dividends to move $0.48 higher across my three shares of AMT.
Dividend Increase #8: Microsoft (MSFT)
Microsoft was the fifth dividend stock to meet my expectations with its September dividend increase.
MSFT announced a 10.7% increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.56 per share to $0.62 per share.
Across my three shares of MSFT, this dividend increase boosted my net annual forward dividends by $0.72.
Dividend Freeze: General Mills (GIS)
General Mills announced its fifth straight quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share.
This is a bit disappointing considering that I was expecting a near 4% raise. But perhaps General Mills will make up for this at some point in the near future with a surprise dividend increase.
Expected Dividend Increases for October
Dividend Increase #1: Visa (V)
As I pointed out in my previous post of this series, I believe that Visa will be announcing a 12.5% increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.32 per share to $0.36 per share.
That's because analysts are forecasting that V's EPS will surge 15.7% to $5.83 this year.
After purchasing another share of V earlier this month, my net annual forward dividends would inch $0.48 higher across my three shares if my prediction is correct.
Dividend Increase #2: American Electric Power (AEP)
The second dividend increase that I'm expecting in October would actually be my first raise from the utility American Electric Power since opening a position earlier this year in January.
Based on the fact that analysts expect AEP's EPS will advance 5.4% to $4.68 this year, I'm expecting an identical percentage increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.74 per share to $0.78 per share.
Across my nine shares of AEP, my net annual forward dividends would be boosted by $1.44 from this dividend increase.
Dividend Increase #3: Pinnacle West Capital (PNW)
The third and final raise that I'm anticipating for October is once again from a utility, but this time from Pinnacle West Capital. Like AEP, this will be my first dividend increase from PNW since I started a position in the stock in July.
I'm expecting a 4.8% increase in PNW's quarterly dividend from $0.83 per share to $0.87 per share.
This would work out to a $1.12 increase in my net annual forward dividends across my 7 shares of the stock.
Concluding Thoughts:
My net annual forward dividends surged $9.934 as a result of the eight dividend increases that I received in September.
At a 3.5% average weighted yield, I would need to invest $283.83 to replicate this additional dividend income with fresh capital.
And with the three dividend increases that I'm forecasting for October expected to bump up my net annual forward dividends by $3.04, this would require $86.86 in fresh capital at a 3.5% yield to replicate.
Since I also expect that I will be contributing around $2,700 between my fresh capital contributions and the dividends that I'll be reinvesting, I believe that my net annual forward dividends should advance from just under $2,030 to begin October to over $2,100 heading into November.
Discussion:
How was your September in terms of dividend increases?
Are you expecting any first-time dividend increases next month from new holdings as I am with AEP and PNW?
I appreciate your readership and welcome your comments in the comment section below!