Recent Purchase - Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

It's not often I have money to make purchases two weeks in a row but it happened again. After my recent purchase of Flowers Foods I had my eye on a few other names including Consolidated Edison (ED), and Compass Minerals (CMP) but I ultimately choose Johnson & Johnson.

I am partial to Utilities, for the safety they offer and I plan on adding to my utility holdings but I think ED is a bit too pricey here. CMP on the other hand is quite cheap but it could go lower with above normal winter temperatures persisting. However I thought JNJ was at a pretty fair price here so I pulled the trigger.

I purchased another 12 shares @ $97.50 - $1170

JNJ Stock Chart

JNJ Basic Statistics

• Ticker Symbol: JNJ
• Sector: Healthcare
• Yield: 3.06%
• Dividend Streak: 53 years
• Dividend Growth 1yr: 6.9%
• Annualized Dividend Growth 3yr: 7.1%
• Payout Ratio: 55%
• P/E Ratio: 15.4
• Market cap:$273 Billion
• Website: http://www.jnj.com

JNJ Dividend Growth Chart

Recent Buy - Flowers Foods (FLO)

Early this week I picked up some shares of the US baker Flowers Foods (FLO). Flowers Foods is the home for some of the largest brands in the business including Wonder, and Natures Own brands. The vast distribution channel consisting of 5,200 independent distributors and warehouses nationwide has enabled Flowers Foods to become the second largest bread company in the US.

Flower Foods is looking for double-digit earnings per share expansion on an annual basis. Analysts are expecting earnings growth to be around 11% in 2016 after the bakery has worked to integrate some acquisitions it's made last year. Along with earnings growth I expect dividend growth to remain robust.

I purchased 56 shares of FLO @ $21.44 - $1200.64

Some of Flowers Foods brands

FLO Chart

FLO Basic Statistics

• Ticker Symbol: FLO
• Sector: Consumer Goods
• Yield: 2.7%
• Dividend Streak: 10 years
• Dividend Growth 1yr: 9.0%
• Annualized Dividend Growth 3yr: 10.6%
• Payout Ratio: 64%
• P/E Ratio: 19.5
• Market cap:$4.5 Billion
• Website: http://www.flowersfoods.com

FLO Dividend Growth Chart

December Dividend Update

Time for my December dividend update, what a year it's been! My dividend total for the month of December was $285.71 which is a 34% improvement over last year but a 5.6% decrease from last quarter. The decrease in dividends this month was due to Walmart and Pepsi moving payments to January rather than December. To soften the blow a bit Coca-Cola payed this month instead of in January. I really hate how they move the dividends around like that but it's really not a big deal.

For the year I earned a total of $3327.59 in dividends which is a 32% increase over my 2014 total of $2505.48. In comparison my 2014 total was a 43% increase over my 2013 total. It's important to note that even though my growth is lower on a percentage basis the sum of the difference is greater and I expect that trend to continue going forward. My dividend income is listed below.

December Purchases

• Walmart (WMT) - 17 Shares @ $59.84

December Dividend Increases

• Unilever (UL) - From .328 to .344 (+4.8 %)
• McDonalds (MCD) - From .85 to .89 (+4.7%)
• Universal Health Trust (UHT) - From .64 to .645 (+0.7%)

December Dividend Income

• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - $36.75
• Unilever - (UL) - $18.96
• Chevron (CVX) - $57.78
• Exxon (XOM) - $31.39
• Realty Income (O) - $19.05
• Avista (AVA) - $19.14
• McDonald's (MCD) - $31.15
• Coca-Cola (KO) - $20.13
• Compass Minerals (CMP) - $11.88
• Universal Realty Trust (UHT) - $32.25
• Travelers (TRV) - $7.32

Total Dividends December 2015: - $285.71