Recent Buys

Although I am still a relative newcomer to the investing world, I have been a bit brave of late and have bought some shares, even though the markets have been wild since the UK have voted to leave the EU (which I’m not going to comment on, though can’t believe). I’m just keeping in sight the fact that I’m investing for the dividends, and hopefully the markets will continue to rise over the long term. I am putting our hard earned cash into companies that will then pay me for owning a small part of their company. In time, I am adding to our different income streams and helping us fund our early retirement dream.

 

So, with that in mind and the fact that the FTSE 100 was lower and I had some cash in my stocks and shares ISA, I took advantage of the lower prices and have made two acquisitions; one of a company I’ve had on my watch list for a while and another in one I had already owned, but have topped up my position in.

 

My first purchase was 150 shares of Standard Life (SL) for £2.60 per share. The dividend growth for this stock is around 7.8% and has been for the past two years, standing at 6% before that. The dividend yield is 4.70% at the moment, which is higher than it has been for the past three years. The year low for this stock is £2.48 and the year high is £4.68 so I’m pleased at the price I’ve got these for.

 

If I look at the dividend payments for the last year on this stock, it comes to £0.18 per share. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but for my 150 shares, this means that by buying this stock it will add £27 to my annual dividend income, without taking into account any dividend increases or cuts.

 

My second purchase was 83 shares of Vodaphone group (VOD) for £2.18 per share. This takes my position in Vodaphone to 100 shares in total. The dividend growth for this stock is small at only 2% for this year and the previous, so I shall keep an eye on that as I go forward. The dividend yield is 5.2% which is good, though this is a similar number for the past five years. The year low for this stock is £1.97 and the year high is £2.47 so again, I am pleased for the price I have got these for.

 

Looking at the dividend payments for the last year for Vodaphone, it stands at £0.11 per share. Again, not a fantastic number but for my 100 shares this means that having this holding will add £11.30 to my annual dividend income, without taking into account any dividend increases or cuts.

 

So, my two recent buys have added £38.30 to my annual dividend income, if nothing else changes in the meantime. Since I am aiming to get £100 dividend payments in 2016, I am well on my way to beating this! I love the fact that dividend investing means regular, if small at this stage, pay checks from other companies than roll in month after month. I am so exciting that my snowball is beginning to roll, slowly but surely.

 

I have updated my Portfolio page to reflect my recent purchases.

 

What do you think about Standard Life and Vodaphone? Do you own these positions?

 

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