8 Stocks I Bought More of in the First Half of 2017

As a general rule, I invest $500 every Monday in a stock I already own or in a stock that I have been interested in owning.  If I don't have $500 in cash available, I sell all or some of a stake that I have in a stock, preferably one that is overvalued or has had a nice run up in price, or both.  During the period from late 2015 to mid-2016, I invested every Monday in a stock for my nonPension portfolio.  The nonPension portfolio has one specific goal:  to generate $560 per month in dividend income starting in December 2035 when my 65th birthday arrives, to replace the amount of money I would have received for my 7 years of employment at a past job had I actually qualified to receive a pension when I left the job.

Starting in August 2016, I went back to investing in my other accounts, including a Roth IRA and a taxable account, occasionally buying new stocks, selling stocks, or adding more to my existing positions.  This blog focuses purely on my nonPension portfolio, but during the past six months, eight of my purchases outside of that portfolio were for stocks that happened to be one of the 44 stocks in the nP.

Including the commissions paid, the amount invested in the 8 stocks in 2017 was almost exactly the same as the amounts invested in 2016:  $3,909.  My initial yield on the 8 purchases collectively was slightly higher in 2017 than in 2016.

One of my purchases was ABBV.  I bought more about 12 months after my initial purchase, and my initial income was about the same the second time around due to a dividend increase.  But I ended up with fewer shares due to a higher prevailing stock price.

In March, I bought more AMGN, which happened to be a stock that I owned even before the nP was formed.  My newest purchase was the same number of shares at a higher price and a higher monthly income amount.

 My BBY holdings increased in April when added more at a higher price.  I received fewer shares, and the monthly income was less.

It took more cash to buy a single share of EMN at the beginning of 2017 than it took in 2016.  So Ended up with fewer shares ad less in my initial income with my more recent purchase.

My most recent choice to buy more was KSS.  This investment feels the most risky of the eight, as the stock's share price continues to fall as the future of the retailer market seems more and more uncertain.  But the lower price and recent dividend increase made the investment of a similar amount of money in 2017 result in a much higher monthly income than the investment 13 months before. 

The value of MPC has increased considerably since the winter of 2016, so buying more in the spring of 2017 has resulted in less monthly income and fewer shares.

Perhaps my most boring investment of the eight highlighted here is PFE.  The company's dividends have been rising slowly over the past few years as the share price has stayed steady, and somewhat undervalued.  I purchased PFE for the first time many years ago, long before the nP was formed.

I have also owned QCOM for several years before the nP was set up.  The share price was similar in May 2017 to what it was in March 2016, so I bought the same number of shares.  The monthly income, however, was much higher for the more recent purchase.

What are some stocks that I may buy more of in the second half of 2017?  Maybe some GILD or TGT, AMP or M.  Also on the maybe list:  WHR.  The chart below might explain why.  It demonstrates the company's rising profits, rising dividends, low P/E ratio, and long-term profitability.