The Dividend Report – Q3-2019

As many of my readers know, I love dividend stocks and believe dividends provide a great source of passive income. Quarterly, I provide updates on my dividend income, dividend goals and if I buy dividend stocks.

Using ‘The Dividend Report‘ section of my blog, I share the progress of my goals. I also share dividend growth stock ideas and thoughts. Additionally, I will share the rationale behind any future purchases or sales. Dividends are truly a wonderful thing.

The Dividend Report

For over three years, I have been working towards the same goal. I want my monthly dividend income to average $1,500/month and provide 25-33% of my monthly retirement income. This goal may be revised upwards over time. I track my dividend income with Personal Capital and store the data on a Google Sheet.

In case you were wondering, real estate will provide the rest of my retirement income.

Q3-2019 Dividend Income

The S&P experienced a wild ride in the past quarter. The market was volatile and had a number of swings up and down. The S&P notched a 0.42% gain for the third quarter of 2019. Year-to-date, the S&P 500 has advanced 18.59%, which is an exceptional performance.

This is my 7th year of tracking dividend data and I continue to make great progress.  I cannot believe I’ve been tracking my progress for so long. It’s true what they say, what gets measured gets improved. It’s fun to watch the progress I’ve made over time.

The graph below shows my dividend income history since 2013:

The table below shows my dividend history since 2013:

As you can see from the chart and graph, my dividend income has slowly and gradually increased over time.  Regular income that increases above the rate of inflation is one of my favorite reasons to invest in dividend growth stocks. You can also see the presence of exponential growth in my dividend income.

Q3-2019 vs Q3-2018

Last year’s Q3 dividend income was $1,051.55. This quarter I earned $1,641.76. This is $590.21 or 56.13% more compared to the same time period last year. Imagine if your job paid you 50% more this year. There are two main reasons for the large increase in my dividend income. First, I have more money invested. Second, most of my stocks keep increasing their regular dividend payments. I also drip (dividend reinvestment plan) some of my dividend stocks. This means each quarter I own more shares of the same stock and collect even more dividends.

This quarter vs. last quarter

My Q3-2019 dividend income was $1,641.76. Last quarter (Q2-2019), my income was $1,667.79. This is a $26.03 or 1.56% decrease from last quarter. The lack of growth from last quarter to this quarter is easily explained. Most of my stocks and funds pay quarterly dividends. However, I have a few funds that do not pay a dividend in the third quarter. As a result, these funds distribute two payments in the fourth quarter. I am still happy with my progress, especially compared to where I was last year.

Progress towards my goal

My average monthly dividend income is now $588.07 ($7,056.78 / 12 months = $588.07), which is 39.20% of my goal of $1,500/month. Previously, I was at 38.93% of my goal. I hope to build off this success and get even closer to my goal this year.

My stretch goal is to achieve $1,500/month by the end of 2019. Candidly, this will be near impossible. However, I will continue to offensively build wealth and invest regularly. I cannot wait to see Q4’s dividend income; it’s usually the best quarter for my dividend income. I have already earned 92.14% of last year’s income in three quarters and expect I will blow away last year’s dividend income.

New Purchases

I purchased another 100 shares of ATT&T in Q3-19. The company continues to execute on its plan which includes paying down debt and increasing free cash flow. I expect the company will introduce a share buyback in the coming months. Additionally, I expect a very modest dividend increase. Furthermore, I like how the company is positioned in the 5G space, the streaming wars, and legacy business. The company provides a great yield and I’ve enjoyed strong capital appreciation.