Bunge Limited (BG) Dividend Increase Announced on May 24, 2017

Bunge Limited (BG) has announced a 10% dividend increase which will become effective with the September 2017 payment.  The increase, along with dividend reinvestment, will result in a payment that will be about 24% higher than the first payment 15 months earlier.  The annualized increase will be about 18%.  The high annualized increase is a result of two increases over a period of less than two full years in May 2016 and May 2017.

Even when you look at the payment increase over the past 12 months from June 2016 to June 2017, BG looks like a good dividend grower, increasing the payout by 13% over that one-year period. Good!  The average stock in the nonPension portfolio needs to grow payments by almost 12% per year for the portfolio to be on track to reach $560 in dividend payments per month by the end of 2035.

Rumors were swirling about a possible takeover of BG recently, but the company announced that it was not interested.

11 Shares of Penske Automotive Group Inc. (PAG) Purchased on May 8, 2017

My nonPension account had a lot of cash from multiple sources sitting around:  Remnants from the CAT sale in April and the CSX sale in late 2016, lose change from when the portfolio was set up, from when JCI had a merger and spin-off last year, and the sale of the spin-off company NGVT last week, so it was time to buy a new security:  Penske Automotive Group Inc. (PAG).

PAG has typically had a low P/E ratio over the last few decades, and its P/E is currently under its long-term average.  When you consider the expected rising future earnings, the investment appears to be a good candidate for price appreciation over time.

In addition to the relative low valuation at this time, PAG has a history over the past few years of increasing the dividend by a penny every quarter, resulting in a 4 cent increase per year.  The current dividend growth rate is about 15% per year.  Coupled with a current yield of over 2.5%, it could be a great addition to the nonPension portfolio.

Are there risks associated with this investment (as with all investments)?  Yes.  One thing that concerns me is that there was a dividend cut during the last recession.  Will that happen again during the next recession?  That remains to be seen.  Let's discuss that when the time comes.

The purchase of 11 shares of PAG will result in a $1.10 average monthly income for my nonPension Portfolio, which takes the average monthly total over $70 for the first time.  $70 down.  $490 to go.  Before you know it, I will be at $560!

Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) Dividend Increase Announced on May 3, 2017

Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH) has announced a somewhat disappointing dividend increase of 3%.  But this amount is much better than the 0% increase provided by Wells Fargo recently.

Thanks to dividend reinvestment and the increase, my next dividend payment will be 4% higher than the first one I received about 6 months earlier.  While my dividend payments are modestly higher now, the value of my shares is moderately lower.

CAH is trying to keep things fresh and innovative at a place they call Fuse:  http://bit.ly/2pz22Lz

Phillips 66 (PSX) Dividend Increase Announced on May 3, 2017

The 2017 dividend increase announcement has been made at Phillips 66 (PSX).  The next payment will be 11% higher than the previous one.  This year's increase is slightly lower than the previous when analyzed as a percentage amount, but equivalent when analyzed as a dollar amount.

My next payment will be 14% higher than my first one nine months earlier thanks to this increase and thanks to dividend reinvestment.  While the payments have gone up since June of last year, the value of my shares has gone down slightly in the same time period.

Is Phillips 66 the best place to stop to get a fill-up?  This commercial seems to imply that it might be:
http://bit.ly/2pIECUk

Apple Inc. (AAPL) Dividend Increase Announced on May 2, 2017

Apple Inc. (AAPL) has announced a 10% increase to its dividend payment going forward.  As a result of that increase and past dividend reinvestment, my next payment will be 12% higher than my first payment nine months ago.

While the dividend payments are up by a large amount since my purchase, the value of my shares is up even more since June 2016.

Does Apple have something ready to compete with Amazon's Alexa?  Perhaps:  http://bit.ly/2qqk0RG

Minor stake in Ingevity Corporation (NGVT) Sold on May 1, 2017

In May 2016 I received two shares of Ingevity Corporation (NGVT), which was spun off from my shares of Westrock Company (WRK).  The stock has not paid any dividends, but the value of the two shares moved up from about $43 to over $125 in less than a year.

Due to two sales over the past year as well as some other loose cash in my nonPension portfolio, I had a total of about $400 in investible cash.  NGVT seemed like the perfect stock to remove from my portfolio so that I can make another $500 investment in a dividend growth company.  And the high valuation made selling even more compelling.

Next week, I will add another dividend growth stock to my portfolio, bringing the total number to 44 if you do not count Adient PLC (ADNT), which is also a stock I own due to a spin-off of another company, and which recently has begun paying a small dividend.

Average monthly income April 28, 2017, up 0.5% month over month

Thanks to dividend increases and dividend reinvestment, my average monthly income is up 0.5% since March 31, from $68.85 to $69.16.  My average monthly income would have been even higher had I not sold my CAT stock and bought some HBI instead.  While the total dividend income is down as a result, the potential for dividend growth seems more promising to me at this time.

My current goal set at the beginning of the year for my average monthly dividend income is $68.94, so I am slightly ahead of my goal at this time.

The overall increase in my average monthly income going forward is due to the following changes over the past month:

Selling Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT) resulted in a decline in income of about $1.88 per month.

Purchasing Hanesbrands Inc (HBI) resulted in an increase in income of about $1.20 per month.

Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (OHI) raised its dividend by about 2% on April 13.

Carnival Corporation (CCL) raised its dividend by about 14% on April 7.

Whirlpool Corporation (WHR) raised its dividend by 10% on April 17.

AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. (AMP) raised its dividend by about 11% on April 24.

Legg Mason, Inc. (LM) raised its dividend by about 27% on April 26,

In addition, the following securities will have higher monthly incomes due to dividend reinvestment:  BBY, CAH, EMN, GLW, HPQ, M, UNP.

I failed to notice at the end of March that ADNT recently initiated dividends, and their first payment was made in April.  As a result, I will now receive about $0.09 per month on average in dividends from ADNT.  

Ticker	Shares	Avg Monthly Dividends	One Year Ago	% Change
AAPL	5.073	$0.96	$0.88	9.62%
ABBV	9.440	$2.01	$1.79	12.28%
ADM	12.443	$1.33	$1.24	6.67%
ADNT	1.000	$0.09	$0.00
AMGN	3.078	$1.18	$1.03	15.00%
AMP	5.140	$1.42	$1.29	10.67%
BA	4.166	$1.97	$1.51	30.28%
BBY	16.482	$1.87	$1.54	21.43%
BG	9.213	$1.29	$1.17	10.53%
CAH	7.081	$1.06	$0.91	15.99%
CCL	11.227	$1.50	$1.31	14.29%
CMI	5.207	$1.78	$1.69	5.13%
EAT	10.287	$1.17	$1.10	6.25%
EMN	7.233	$1.23	$1.11	10.87%
ETN	9.403	$1.88	$1.79	5.26%
GEO	23.322	$3.63	$3.37	7.69%
GILD	6.122	$1.06	$0.96	10.64%
GLW	27.825	$1.44	$1.25	14.81%
HBI	24.000	$1.20	$0.88	36.36%
HOG	12.420	$1.51	$1.45	4.29%
HPQ	37.907	$1.68	$1.57	7.02%
INTC	14.269	$1.30	$1.24	4.81%
IP	13.643	$2.10	$2.00	5.11%
JCI	10.119	$0.84	$0.98	-13.79%
JPM	8.218	$1.37	$1.31	4.17%
KSS	11.550	$2.12	$1.93	10.00%
LM	16.447	$1.54	$1.21	27.27%
M	12.548	$1.58	$1.51	4.86%
MPC	16.515	$1.98	$1.76	12.50%
NGVT	2.000	$0.00	$0.00
OHI	15.870	$3.33	$3.07	8.62%
PFE	15.414	$1.64	$1.54	6.67%
PRU	6.254	$1.56	$1.46	7.14%
PSX	6.141	$1.29	$1.15	12.50%
QCOM	9.323	$1.77	$1.65	7.55%
R	10.312	$1.51	$1.41	7.32%
T	15.944	$2.60	$2.55	2.08%
TGT	7.193	$1.44	$1.34	7.14%
UNP	6.185	$1.25	$1.13	10.00%
VIAB	12.301	$0.82	$1.64	-50.00%
VZ	10.344	$1.99	$1.95	2.21%
WFC	10.211	$1.29	$1.29	0.00%
WHR	3.052	$1.12	$1.02	10.00%
WRK	15.507	$2.07	$1.94	6.67%
WYN	7.145	$1.38	$1.19	16.00%
TOTAL		$69.16	$64.09
Overall annual increase in dividend payments				7.91%
Overall dividend yield -- dividends reinvested				3.08%
Approximate annual growth rate including reinvestment and increases				11.24%
Annual growth rate needed				11.91%
Behind goal rate by				-0.68%
End of March behind by				-1.66%
End of February behind by				-1.71%
End of January behind by				-2.57%