Recent buy: UNP

Three weeks ago I purchased 10 additional shares of Union Pacific. UNP operates North America's premier railroad franchise, covering 23 states in the western two-thirds of the United States.

My first purchase was back in May 2015. The stock price was about $108 and yielded 2,0% at the time. During the last year I purchased additional shares on two other occasions. Back in October 2022 10 shares and earlier this year 5 shares. The yield on these last purchases was around 2,4 tot 2,7%. For this recent purchase I paid $196 per share which puts the yield at 2,6%.

Over the 8 years I've had UNP in my portfolio the dividend on my original purchase has grown at more than 11% per year. Dividend growth is lumpy with years of 20% dividend growth and years with just 5%. I am more than pleased with the results of UNP. My total return for this position is just under 10%, so that includes dividend and stock price appreciation. UNP currently is my biggest equity position at 4,5% of my portfolio. Only the investment in my (own) employers company is bigger.

For now I guess my position in UNP seems full. This purchase adds about $50 to my forward annual dividend income.

Recent buys (TXN, TROW, UNP & HASI) and sells (BEP & BIP)

During the last two weeks I made various moves because of a new tax rule. As a result of U.S. Internal Revenue Regulations taking effect 1 January 2023, new withholding charges will be applied to sales proceeds from certain Publicly Traded Partnerships ("PTPs”) held by investors who are not U.S. taxpayers. The amount of withholding is 10% of sale or distribution proceeds.  This means 10% of the amount of funds that would settle resulting from any transaction or distribution, not just 10% on any calculated profit. I had two positions which are affected by this new regulations. I decided to sell my position in BEP and BIP even though I added a few times during the last year.

• I sold 200 shares of BEP for about $ 26 per share. I 'lost' $256 in dividend income (before tax).
• I sold 150 shares of BIP for about $ 32 per share. I 'lost' $216 in dividend income (before tax).

I used the proceeds to add to three existing holdings and open one new position.

• On January 6 I purchased another 10 shares of Texas Instruments for $176 per share. The current dividend yield is around 2,8%. This purchase adds about $ 50 to my annual forward dividend income. 
• On January 6 I purchased another 10 shares of T. Rowe Price (TROW) for $113 per share. The dividend yield at the moment of purchase was around 3,3%. This purchase also adds about $ 50 to my annual forward dividend income. 
• On January 6 I purchased another 5 shares of Union Pacific (UNP) for about $213 per share. The dividend yield at the moment of purchase was around 2,4%. This purchase adds about $ 25 to my annual forward dividend income. 
• On November 29 I opened a new position in Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure. I purchased 130 shares for about $31 per share. The dividend yield at the moment of purchase was around 4,8%. This new purchase adds about $ 195 to my annual forward dividend income. 

Summary

Because of my sells in BIP and BEP I lost around $470 in dividend income. I used the proceeds to add to three existing holdings and open 1 new position. I gained about $320 in dividenc income. That sets me back a little but but I still have some cash laying around for 1 or 2 new purchases this month. My current annual dividend income is around € 11.300. 

Recent buys: BIP, BEP, ASML and UNP

Recently I added to four existing holdings.

• On October 11 I purchased another 60 shares of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners $33,50 per share. The current dividend yield is around 4,3%. This new purchase adds more than $ 85 to my annual forward dividend income. 
• On October 11 I purchased another 40 shares of Brookfield Renewable Partners $29 per share. The current dividend yield is around 4,4%. This new purchase adds more than $ 50 to my annual forward dividend income. 
• On October 13 I purchased another 3 shares of ASML for about € 405 per share.
  I purchased my first shares in ASML last month for $474 and my 2nd batch a few weeks ago for € 440. This purchase adds almost € 16 to my annual forward dividend income.
• On October 21 I purchased another 10 shares of Union Pacific Corporation for $190 per share. The current dividend yield is around 2,7%. This new purchase adds more than $ 50 to my annual forward dividend income. 

My current annual dividend income is around € 11.400.

Recent dividend raises (O, JNJ, KMI, IBM, BAX, Shell, UNP)

In the last weeks I received several raises that boosted my dividend income! So let's see who decided to give me more money and how much!

• On March 15 Realty Income (O) announced its Board of Directors has declared an increase in the company's common stock monthly cash dividend to $0.247 per share from $0.2465 per share. It's a standard quarterly raise which adds a few cents each year.
• On April 19 Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a 6.6% increase in the quarterly dividend, from $1.06 per share to $1.13 per share.
• On April 20 Kinder Morgan (KMI) approved a cash dividend of $0.2775 per share for the first quarter ($1.11 annualized), payable on May 16, 2022. This dividend is a 3% increase over the first quarter of 2021 and marks the fifth consecutive annual increase.
• International Business Machines (IBM) raised its quarterly disbursement to $1.65 cents a share from $1.64. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, whose constituents have paid out a higher dividend for at least 25 straight years. But the raise itself is quite poor...
• On May 2 Baxter International (BAX) announced an increase in the company's quarterly cash dividend to a rate of $0.29 per share of common stock. This represents an approximately 3.5% increase over the previous quarterly dividend rate of $0.28 per share.
• On May 5 Shell decided to raise its quarterly divend by about 4%. Since Shell is one of my bigger positions this raise adds more than € 13 per year.
• On May 12 Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) announced a 10% hike in its dividend payout. The move underscores the company’s sound financial health as it utilizes free cash flow for enhancing shareholders’ returns. It is the 3rd 10% dividend raise during the last year.

These seven raises combined will deliver an annual income boost of more than € 25 in 2022 (and hopefully more after 2022!). In total I have received raises which will boost my annual dividend income by almost € 135.

Dividend raise: Union Pacific (+10%)

Yesterdag Union Pacific (UNP) declared a $1,07 quarterly dividend, which is a 10% increase from its prior quarterly dividend of $0.97. Since I own 15 shares of UNP this raise adds about € 5 to my forward annual dividend income. This is a really solid dividend increase in my book! The last time they raised their dividend was back in the summer of 2019.

I purchased my shares about 6 years ago for $108 a piece. Currently they are worth around $228, so that's roughly an 13% annual rate of return, based just on the price appreciation alone.

In the past years I've received about 15% of my original purchase price in dividends. The dividend has grown from $0,55 per share (quarterly) to its current level of $1,07 per share. That's an awesome growth rate of 12% per year. With this pace my dividend has doubled in the last 6 years. I am really content to have added this company to my portfolio a few years ago.

So far this year I've received 19 dividend raises which added almost €80 to my annual income stream.




What do you think the dividend raise by UNP? Do you consider adding shares to your portfolio at its current price?

Dividend raise: Union Pacific (+10%)

Three weeks ago Union Pacific (UNP) declared a $0.97/share quarterly dividend, which is a 10% increase from its prior quarterly dividend of $0.88. Since I own 15 share of UNP this raise adds about € 5 to my forward annual dividend income. This is a really solid dividend increase in my book, and it's its second raise this year!

I purchased my shares about 4 years ago for $108 a piece. Currently they are worth around $162, so that's roughly an 11% annual rate of return, based just on the price appreciation alone.

In the past years I've received about 10% of my original purchase price in dividends. The dividend has grown from $0,55 per share (quarterly) to its current level of $0,97 per share. That's an awesome growth rate of 14% each year. At this pace the dividend is expected to double in value about every six years! I am really content to have added this company to my portfolio a few years ago.
So far this year I've received 17 dividend raises which added almost $50 to my annual income stream.

What do you think the dividend raise by UNP? Do you consider adding shares to your portfolio at its current price?

UNP raised its dividend by 10%

A few days ago Union Pacific (UNP) declared a $0.88/share quarterly dividend, which is a 10% increase from its prior quarterly dividend of $0.80. Since I own 15 share of UNP this raise adds about € 4 to my forward annual dividend income. This is a really solid dividend increase in my book!

I purchased my shares about 4 years ago for $108 a piece. Currently they are worth around $162, so that's roughly an 11% annual rate of return, based just on the price appreciation alone.

In the past years I've received about 10% of my original purchase price in dividends. The dividend has grown from $0,55 per share (quarterly) to its current level of $0,88 per share. That's an awesome growth rate of 13% each year. At this pace the dividend is expected to double in value about every six years! I am really content to have added this company to my portfolio a few years ago.









What do you think the dividend raise by UNP? Do you consider adding shares to your portfolio at its current price?

Recent buy: Union Pacific Corp

Last week I wrote a post about the question in which company to invest next. I got several good tips, thanks! In the end I went back and forth between Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Union Pacific Corp (UNP). So what's my reasoning with this purchase?

• I was not invested in any railroad company so far while I do have some healthcare exposure through BAX and to a lesser extent OHI.
• The railroad industry has high barriers of entry and consequently a big moat. Railroads and trains have various competitive advantages over trucks (e.g. cost, speed, safety, environment) and will remain an important part of the future transport sector.
• Current yield of UNP (2%) is lower than JNJ's yield (3%), however UNP's dividend growth in recent years outpaced JNJ's growth rate.
• UNP's payout ratio (in terms of %EPS) is only 37% which leaves ample room for future dividend growth, especially with estimated EPS growth of ~14% in the next 5 years (analysts opinions...).
• JNJ's payout ratio is slightly higher at 54% and estimated EPS growth rate is also lower at ~5% for the next 5 years.
• The P/E-ratio is comparable (~18x)
• Obviously JNJ's balance sheet is a fortress, but UNP's debt/equity ratio of 0.6 is not too bad either.
• Total return in the last 10 years for UNP is a whopping 22% per year. Even half of that would be just fine by me! JNJ's total return in the last 10 years is only 6% per year. This gap is much smaller if you take into account the risk adjusted rate of return (JNJ is a much 'safer' investment in terms of beta). But still UNP is much more of a growth company than JNJ.

All in all I decided to open a position in Union Pacific Corp. My purchase of 15 shares add roughly €30 to my annual forward dividend income.