Dividend update: ex dividends to roll in.

Vodafone went ex dividend yesterday (6 June) with the expected 6.47p return of capital duly coming off the share price as one would expect.

Its a profitable period to come for portfolio dividends at the moment and I did make a note of current ex dividends in my last portfolio update (May 2012: Portfolio Update.), and have since added an estimate for Microsoft to the list below along with Vodafone.

01 Jun - BAE @ 11.3p per share - Received
08 Jun - William Hill @ 6.7p per share
13 Jun - Centrica @ 11.11p per share
14 Jun - Microsoft @ 10.97p per share (est. based on $1.5491:£1 and 15% withholding tax)
20 Jun - Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets @ 7.53p per share
27 Jun - BP @ 8c per share
04 July - Rolls-Royce @ 10.6p per share
06 July - Tesco @ 10.13p per share
01 Aug - Vodafone @ 6.47p per share
15 Aug - National Grid @ 25.5p per share

All told (including BAE) and relative to the portfolio's valuation in my May update, the above list of dividends could potentially add a further 1.6% to its overall value (I say potentially as its a bit like trying to build on sand at the moment!).

And, although 1.6% might not seem big in the scheme of things, it is a gain in the right direction and adds to my war chest.

Of a more measurable significance is the fact that 1.6% is currently on a par with my 2 lightest weight holdings, which at the end of May were: Tesco @ 1.49%; and BAE Systems @ 1.68% (May 2012: Portfolio Update.).

Going off historic information, I reckon that GE is also due to go ex dividend mid June with a payable date in July.

So as things stand, with few major changes to the portfolio, the inflow of dividends looks like following a very similar pattern to 2011 with January, July, and August likely to form my peak dividend inflows (My first dividend of 2012 (and 2011 dividends in profile).

Onto the war chest then which at the end of May stood at 4.74%.
Adding these dividends increases the cash balance to more than 6%, which is a useful enough total to provide me with the option of adding new holdings or topping up existing ones.

Its a useful reminder to me of the key role that dividends have, and their benefits, in my current thinking and strategy. Which is centered around compounding through the re-investment of dividends.

Roll on those dividends!

Related posts:
- May 2012: Portfolio Update.
- My first dividend of 2012 (and 2011 dividends in profile).