Weekly Dividend Increase Report for the Week of January 9, 2012 – A Slow Start…

Daily Dividend Investor Update

To my loyal Daily Dividend Investor readers: Please note that I have migrated the blog over to a managed server located at: www.dailydividendinvestor.com

I will continue to update this WordPress site with duplicate content for a few weeks – most likely until the new year, but you may want to check in at my new hosted location for all the latest content. I am also using a better – easier to read theme that I hope you’ll enjoy. Thanks for reading and following along and don’t forget to LIKE our Facebook page!

Thanks!

Neil

Weekly Dividend Increase Report for the Week of January 9, 2012 – A Slow Start…

January is definitely off to a slow start as far as dividend increases go. This week only two companies reported dividend increases including an industrial machinery & goods company, Robbins & Myers (ticker: RBN) as well as Plains All American Pipeline, LP (ticker: PAA) an oil and natural gas pipeline management firm.

The weekly wrap

As I do each week, I´ve provided a Google Doc spreadsheet at the bottom of this post with all the specifics, that you can refer back to at any time.

Each week as I go through the list of companies that have reported dividend increases, I´m often surprised to learn about new companies I´ve never heard of, even though many of them have been in business for 50 to 100 year or longer!

The Daily Dividend Portfolio – Quick Video Recap

Daily Dividend Investor Update

To my loyal Daily Dividend Investor readers: Please note that I have migrated the blog over to a managed server located at: www.dailydividendinvestor.com

I will continue to update this WordPress site with duplicate content for a few weeks – most likely until the new year, but you may want to check in at my new hosted location for all the latest content. I am also using a better – easier to read theme that I hope you’ll enjoy. Thanks for reading and following along and don’t forget to LIKE our Facebook page!

Thanks!

Neil

The Daily Dividend Portfolio – Quick Video Recap

After receiving quite a few emails from readers asking questions about the Daily Dividend Investor portfolio I thought it might be helpful to create a few videos answering some of the most common questions.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting a number of videos that tell what exactly the DDI portfolio is, why I started the portfolio, how I choose the stocks I add, and most importantly, I show you how to build your own passive income portfolio starting with very little money!

In the mean time, take a look at my first video in the series, “What is the DDI Portfolio?” I hope you enjoy it and feel free to post any questions you might have in the comments below. Thanks!

Time for some Christmas Shopping

Daily Dividend Investor Update

To my loyal Daily Dividend Investor readers: Please note that I have migrated the site over to a managed server located at: www.dailydividendinvestor.com

I will continue to update this WordPress site with duplicate content for a few weeks,  but you may want to check in at my new hosted location for all the latest content. I am also using a better – easier to read theme that I hope you’ll enjoy. Thanks for reading and following along and don’t forget to LIKE our Facebook page!

Thanks!

Neil

Over the last few weeks I’ve done a bit of holiday shopping  for the Daily Dividend Investor portfolio. While I wouldn’t say that I scored any real bargains, I added a few new positions to the portfolio that should really help increase my income stream in 2012 and beyond.

As I add positions to the DDI portfolio I’m not afraid to put some money at risk, buying what may be a smaller, unproven or just less stable company in return for higher yield and the possibility of capital gains down the road.

I do like to try and keep things balanced – so for every riskier stock purchased I try to add what I often refer to as a “Steady Eddie” – those less interesting companies that just pay a consistent, albeit smaller, dividend quarter after quarter, year after year.

A quick overview of my recent purchases is shown below:

Top 5 Dividend Picks for 2012

PLEASE READ:

To my loyal Daily Dividend Investor readers: Please note that I have migrated the site over to a managed server located at: www.dailydividendinvestor.com

I will continue to update this WordPress site with duplicate content  for a few weeks, but you may want to check in at my new hosted location for all the latest content. I am also using a better – easier to read theme that I hope you’ll enjoy. Thanks for reading and following along and don’t forget to LIKE our Facebook page!

Thanks!

Neil

Top 5 Dividend Picks for 2012

2011 is drawing to a close and it’s been a good year for the Daily Dividend Investor portfolio. My goal for the portfolio this year, was to grow it to the point where it would generate $500/month in passive income. Even though the DDI portfolio falls just a little short one month each quarter, it is producing well above $1500 in quarterly income!

I’m very pleased with that accomplishment.

I’ve already bumped the next goal to $600/month in income, however through some additional capital additions throughout 2012 I’m pushing to get the portfolio up to $1000/month.

As I look back on 2011 there a few stocks that are worth special mention and I wanted to share them with you. So in today’s post I’m going to highlight my 5 Top Dividend Stock Picks for 2012. A few of these stocks are already  owned by the DDI portfolio and others are stocks I’m looking to possibly add in the near future.

A word of caution as you work your way through the list. You shouldn’t just use this as a “buy list”, but rather as a starting point for developing new investment ideas that may help improve your portfolio. If your current portfolio has less than 10-15 holdings, these may not be the right stocks for you now – you may want to look to more large cap / blue chip, Dow components before adding some of the names I’ll be looking at here.

Dividend Increases for Tuesday December 6, 2011

 

Daily Dividend Investor Update

 

To my loyal Daily Dividend Investor readers: Please note that I have migrated the site over to a managed server located at: www.dailydividendinvestor.com

 

I will continue to update this WordPress site with duplicate content for a few weeks,  but you may want to check in at my new hosted location for all the latest content. I am also using a better – easier to read theme that I hope you’ll enjoy. Thanks for reading and following along and don’t forget to LIKE our Facebook page!

 

Thanks!

 

Neil

Dividend Increases for Tuesday December 6, 2011

Five companies announced dividend increases today including a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) that increased it’s dividend by 150%!

While none of the yields of any of these companies breaks the 2% range, the fact that so many companies continued to increase their dividend this year is a sign of the business environment continuing to improve.

The Big Winner

SL Green Realty (ticker: SLG) New York City’s largest commercial landlord was the big winner today as it increased it’s dividend from $.40 to $1.00 annually. SL Green Realty pays out a quarterly dividend with the next payment on January  13, 2012 to shareholders of record on January 2, 2012.

Daily Dividend Increases

Also reporting increases today were two annual dividend payers, Balchem Corporation (ticker: BCPC) and Churchill Downs (ticker: CHDN) – both of these firms increased their dividend by 20% year over year.

Rounding out today’s dividend players was Gold Corp (ticker: GG) and J&J Snack Foods (ticker: JJSF) raising their dividends by 31% and 8.5% respectively. For more detailed information about today’s dividend increases please refer to the chart below.

Investment Considerations

As always when evaluating investment opportunities it’s important to keep in mind not only the fundamentals of the stock itself, but also how the holding entity (Limited Partnership, Royalty Trust, Master Limited Partnership, Business Development Company, Preferred Stock) may affect the way you report income on your annual tax return as well as the amount or percentage of tax  you will be required to pay. Adding shares of any of these special entities to tax deferred / retirement accounts may also present additional issues.

Remember to review all of the fundamentals of any company BEFORE investing – do not simply buy a stock based on the dividend payout. If you have further questions about any stock mentioned her you should first consult with your CPA or tax planner / advisor before making any investments.

My BIG “why”?

My BIG “why”?

That’s the question, why?

Why build the Daily Dividend Investor portfolio?

Why seek passive income?

Why bother at all?

For me there are TWO answers:

1. Spending time on new business projects.

and

2. Spending time with my kids.

There is nothing wrong with a 9-5 job, I’ve had several of them and I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy the work that I had. Whether it was working in a warehouse stocking shelves or configuring large computer networks for a Fortune 500 software company – I’ve always found work that I loved.

But the problem with a 9-5 job is that it means you are at the mercy of some else (your boss) when it comes to the allocation of your time.

For me, I get bored easily, wanting to constantly move from one challenge to the next. Most “jobs” don’t give you that flexibility – they prefer that you master a few tasks and repeat them again and again and again.

Earlier this month my wife and I decided to take the kids out of school for a couple of days for a quick road trip to San Diego. We spent 5 days together as a family, in the sunny SoCal weather enjoying Legoland, the San Diego Zoo and several local beaches, not to mention some of the best Mexican food around.

• I didn’t have to think about asking (permission) for time off.
• I didn’t have to worry about (not) getting paid.
• I didn’t have to constantly check emails and voicemails to make sure all was fine back at the office.

I spent my time focused on my family and enjoyed the time we had together.

Because we have the flexibility to go on trips like this when we want, we can avoid the peak travel times and the crowds that go with them. It makes for a lot less stressful trip!

The DDI portfolio is one of several passive income streams I’ve created and  it currently is the smallest in the size of income it generates for me. However, I expect to grow it consistently over the next few years. My ultimate goal would be for the DDI portfolio to generate $5000.00 /month in passive unmanaged income.

Right now the growth of the DDI portfolio is one of my main projects. I’m positive that over time, I will find newer more interesting projects – but if I build it with a firm foundation, I know that it will continue to serve me well for the long-term.

Eventually, it is an asset that I will pass along to my kids, and in turn perhaps it will someday help their kids as well – a legacy of sorts. For now I am enjoying the journey of continuing to build the DDI portfolio and am thankful that it is already providing support for my family to enjoy an occasional vacation and time together!

Time for a mini-vacation at the lake…

Things are looking good!

The DDI portfolio is cruising right along generating passive income of  $283.89  month to date so far in July.

With about a month left of summer, before the kids have to go back to school, we’re going to take advantage of the great California weather and head on out to California’s Gold Country with a short stay at  New Melones Reservoir in Central California for a few days of boating, wake-boarding and tubing with our family and close friends.

Passive Income buys Time & Freedom

The DDI Portfolio builds steam like a train!

It’s time like these, that make me appreciate that I can take time off and know that I’ve still got a stream of income coming into to pay my bills.

Each day the DDI portfolio continues to grow the income stream, and is quickly approaching my target of paying out $500/month on a consistent basis.

Family time is something we highly value, so I figure now’s a good time to enjoy some of the fruits of my labor and take a few days off from managing my trading and income portfolios.

While catching some rays and enjoying an ice cold Blue Moon or Anchor Steam brew, I’m going to take some time to work on my 6 & 12 month life and business plans. Taking time out to recharge really helps to clear your mind and figure out what is most important in your life. I’m excited about coming back with a great action plan in had ready to roll.

But for now, let’s have some fun in the sun!

Dividend Increases for Thursday July 14, 2011

Dividend Increases for Thursday July 14, 2011

Four companies announced dividend increases today including 2 Limited Partnerships, 1 Business Development Corporation (BDC) and a commonly held Large Cap.

The largest increases in dividends came from Pope Resources L.P. (ticker: pope) with a huge 40% increase, followed by the drugstore chain, Walgreen Company (ticker: wag) with an equally impressive increase of 28%, keeping it’s 35 year tradition of dividend increases alive.

Completing today’s line-up of dividend increases are Gladstone Investment Corporation (ticker: gain) and Genesys Energy L.P. (ticker: GEL) with increases of 11% and 1.8% respectively.

Week in review

This week over 10 separate companies have delivered dividend increases which offers up good evidence that not only the US economy, but those around the world are not only healing but are beginning to show signs of continued growth and expansion.

Investment Considerations

As always when evaluating investment opportunities it’s important to keep in mind not only the fundamentals of the stock itself, but also how the holding entity (Limited Partnership, Royalty Trust, Master Limited Partnership, Business Development Company, Preferred Stock) may affect the way you report income on your annual tax return as well as the amount or percentage of tax  you will be required to pay. Adding shares of any of these special entities to tax deferred / retirement accounts may also present additional issues that should be discussed with your CPA or tax planner / advisor before purchasing.

Dividend Increases for Thursday July 7, 2011

Dividend Increases for Thursday July 7, 2011

Western Gas Partners, LP (ticker: WES)  increased their quarterly dividend today by $.025/share for an increase of 3.8%. Based on today’s closing price of $36.15/share Western Gas Partners pays out a 4.48% dividend yield.

Because WGP is a limited partnership, you will be issued a K-1 tax form each year and will be required to include US Federal Tax Form 1065 when completing your tax return. As I currently hold such small positions in the DDI portfolio I typically avoid adding shares of  limited partnership interests to my holdings in an attempt to keep tax reporting as simple as possible.

I would consider making an exception for limited partnership interests that generate monthly income – however, Western Gas Partners currently pays dividends quarterly in August, November, February and May, so for now I won’t be considering adding shares of WGP.

Dividend Increases for Wednesday June 29, 2011

Dividend Increases for Wednesday June 29, 2011

General Mills (ticker: GIS) raised their dividend today from $.28/quarter to $.305/quarter, which equates to an increase of almost 9%. The annual payout is $1.20/share – based on today’s closing price of $37.38 this brings General Mills’ dividend yield to 3.26%.

This is good news for the DDI porfolio which already holds a position of 20 shares. The next dividend payment date for General Mills will be on August 1. Because General Mills has shown a trend of increasing dividends and a yield above 3% it will be included for consideration as I redeploy the free cash flow from the portfolio as June comes to a close.