October 2018: Dividend Pipeline and Apple comparison

As mentioned, after a bumper couple of months, expected October dividends will be a little scarce on the ground, as will the run to the end of the year.
Through August and September, all 4 of my big hitters, Lloyds, National Grid, Aviva, and BP delivered a payout, ably supported by a number of other chunky yielding companies.

As things stand though, for the year to date and v. the start of the year portfolio figure, actual dividends received have amounted to a yield of 4.12% (not adjusted for any funds removed), which is a figure I'm happy with. Although, it also has to be noted that this may have been at the expense of some capital growth, so I continue to look for a happy balance.

One thing that occurred to me to check was my current yield on Apple, which has a historic figure of 1.6% for the year ending Sept 2017, and a consensus forecast estimate of 1.2%.
After the 15% US withholding tax and a weaker sterling exchange rate, the net yield to me is around 0.9%, and a forecast estimate of 1.03%.
However, this does not always show the bigger picture given the strong long term capital growth that Apple has given. 
Just for a little comparison, if I was to take the current forecast net yield (incl. 15% withholding tax and an exchange rate of $1: £1.3), and pitch it against my original investment in Apple, I see that I am actually receiving a net yield of 6.15%. Perhaps the best of both worlds and long may it continue to appreciate its share price and increase its dividend.

Looking ahead:
	Rate
Company	c.	p.	Xd	Paid
National Grid		15.49	23/11/2017	10/01/2018
Vodafone		4.84	23/11/2017	02/02/2018
BAT		48.8	27/12/2018	07/02/2018
Apple	63		12/02/2018	15/02/2018
SSE		28.4	18/01/2018	16/03/2018
Berkeley Group		56.75	01/03/2018	23/03/2018
RDS 'B'	47		15/02/2018	26/03/2018
Imperial Brands		59.51	22/02/2018	29/03/2018
BP	10		15/02/2018	29/03/2018
Galliford Try		28	15/03/2018	06/04/2018
BAT		48.8	22/03/2018	09/05/2018
Aviva		19	05/04/2018	17/05/2018
Apple	73		14/05/2018	17/05/2018
Lloyds		2.05	19/04/2018	29/05/2018
RDS 'B'	47		10/05/2018	18/06/2018
BP	10		10/05/2018	22/06/2018
Imperial Brands		28.43	24/05/2018	29/06/2018
Vodafone		10.23	07/06/2018	03/08/2018
BAT		48.8	28/06/2018	08/08/2018
National Grid		30.44	31/05/2018	15/08/2018
Apple	73		10/08/2018	16/08/2018
RDS 'B'	47		09/08/2018	17/09/2018
SSE		66.3	26/07/2018	21/09/2018
BP	10.25		09/08/2018	21/09/2018
Aviva		9.25	16/08/2018	24/09/2018
Standard Life Aberdeen		7.3	16/08/2018	25/09/2018
Lloyds		1.07	16/08/2018	26/09/2018
Imperial Brands		28.43	23/08/2018	28/09/2018
Standard Chartered	6		09/08/2018	22/10/2018
BAT		48.8	04/10/2018	15/11/2018
Galliford Try		49	08/11/2018	05/12/2018
Imperial Brands			22/11/2018	31/12/2018

September 18: Dividend Pipeline

After a bumper month in July for dividends, can I really expect to see a better August?
I can indeed as a positive rush to pay out comes from RDS, SSE, BP, Aviva, Standard Life, Imperial Brands, and Lloyds.
In particular, Lloyds, BP, and Aviva, are 3 of my 4 big hitters (the 4th being National Grid which delivered last month).
As a newer holding, Standard Life Aberdeen will also make its maiden payment into my portfolio.

All of that being the case, September's payments will almost (not quite), double that of August's which is very satisfying following the unusual drought in July, courtesy of my portfolio pack being reshuffled and dealt over the last year or two.

It also means that the flow of dividends will start to slow for the remainder of the year until National Grid starts 2019. I can see a resulting yield of around 4.1% based upon my 2017 starting value but we will see how that actually stacks up come the year-end.

	Rate
Company	c.	p.	Xd	Paid
National Grid		15.49	23/11/2017	10/01/2018
Vodafone		4.84	23/11/2017	02/02/2018
BAT		48.8	27/12/2017	07/02/2018
Apple	63		12/02/2018	15/02/2018
SSE		28.4	18/01/2018	16/03/2018
Berkeley Group		56.75	01/03/2018	23/03/2018
RDS 'B'	47		15/02/2018	26/03/2018
Imperial Brands		59.51	22/02/2018	29/03/2018
BP	10		15/02/2018	29/03/2018
Galliford Try		28	15/03/2018	06/04/2018
BAT		48.8	22/03/2018	09/05/2018
Aviva		19	05/04/2018	17/05/2018
Apple	73		14/05/2018	17/05/2018
Lloyds		2.05	19/04/2018	29/05/2018
RDS 'B'	47		10/05/2018	18/06/2018
BP	10		10/05/2018	22/06/2018
Imperial Brands		28.43	24/05/2018	29/06/2018
Vodafone		10.23	07/06/2018	03/08/2018
BAT		48.8	28/06/2018	08/08/2018
National Grid		30.44	31/05/2018	15/08/2018
Apple	73		10/08/2018	16/08/2018
RDS 'B'	47		09/08/2018	17/09/2018
SSE		66.3	26/07/2018	21/09/2018
BP	10.25		09/08/2018	21/09/2018
Aviva		9.25	16/08/2018	24/09/2018
Standard Life Aberdeen		7.3	16/08/2018	25/09/2018
Lloyds		1.07	16/08/2018	26/09/2018
Imperial Brands		28.43	23/08/2018	28/09/2018
Standard Chartered	6		09/08/2018	22/10/2018
BAT		48.8	04/10/2018	15/11/2018
Galliford Try		49	08/11/2018	05/12/2018

August 2018: Dividend Pipeline

So after a drought in July, where do we sit with dividends in the pipeline at the moment?
Well August looks significantly better with National Grid leading the way supported by BAT, Vodafone and Apple.

In addition: RDS, BP, Aviva, Standard Life, Lloyds, Imperial Brands, Standard Chartered all go ex dividend in August.

Looking ahead:

	Rate
Company	c.	p.	Xd	Paid
National Grid		15.49	23/11/2017	10/01/2018
Vodafone		4.84	23/11/2017	02/02/2018
BAT		48.8	27/12/2017	07/02/2018
BAT		48.8	27/12/2018	07/02/2018
Apple	63		12/02/2018	15/02/2018
SSE		28.4	18/01/2018	16/03/2018
Berkeley Group		56.75	01/03/2018	23/03/2018
RDS 'B'	47		15/02/2018	26/03/2018
Imperial Brands		59.51	22/02/2018	29/03/2018
BP	10		15/02/2018	29/03/2018
Galliford Try		28	15/03/2018	06/04/2018
BAT		48.8	22/03/2018	09/05/2018
Aviva		19	05/04/2018	17/05/2018
Apple	73		14/05/2018	17/05/2018
Lloyds		2.05	19/04/2018	29/05/2018
RDS 'B'	47		10/05/2018	18/06/2018
BP	10		10/05/2018	22/06/2018
Imperial Brands		28.43	24/05/2018	29/06/2018
Vodafone		10.23	07/06/2018	03/08/2018
BAT		48.8	28/06/2018	08/08/2018
National Grid		30.44	31/05/2018	15/08/2018
Apple	73		10/08/2018	16/08/2018
RDS 'B'	47		09/08/2018	17/09/2018
SSE		66.3	26/07/2018	21/09/2018
BP	10.25		09/08/2018	21/09/2018
Aviva		9.25	16/08/2018	24/09/2018
Standard Life Aberdeen		7.3	16/08/2018	25/09/2018
Lloyds		1.07	16/08/2018	26/09/2018
Imperial Brands		28.43	23/08/2018	28/09/2018
Standard Chartered	6		09/08/2018	22/10/2018
BAT		48.8	04/10/2018	15/11/2018
Galliford Try		49	08/11/2018	05/12/2018

April Dividend Pipeline

So where do we sit with dividends in the pipeline at the moment?

Looking ahead:

                                              xD               Paid
SSE @ 28.4p                       18 Jan         16 Mar
Berkeley Group @ 56.75p  01 Mar        23 Mar
RDS 'B' @ 47c                     15 Feb        26 Mar
Imperial Brands @ 59.51p  22 Feb        29 Mar
BP @ 10c                             15 Feb        29 Mar
Galliford Try @ 28p             15 Mar        06 Apr
Aviva @ 19p                         05 Apr        17 May
Lloyds @ 2.05p                    19 Apr        29 May                      

Not much to be expected in April then with just a sole deposit from Galliford Try, but May looks to a good month with payouts from Lloyds and Aviva expected.

Dividend Pipeline and Thoughts.

So where do we sit with dividends in the pipeline at the moment?

Looking ahead:

                                              xD               Paid
SSE @ 28.4p                       18 Jan         16 Mar
Berkeley Group @ 56.75p  01 Mar        23 Mar
RDS 'B' @ 47c                     15 Feb        26 Mar
Imperial Brands @ 59.51p  22 Feb        29 Mar
BP @ 10c                             15 Feb        29 Mar
Galliford Try @ 28p             15 Mar        06 Apr

All currently showing with a decent yield even if they aren't all significant enough holdings to be a big contributor to my portfolio. 
However, March looks like a good month for dividends (particularly from Berkeley Group), and I do see them all as contributors as they all help the aggregate yield of my portfolio.

I have started to question my current strategy though, which has been solidly in place since the credit crunch of 2008. 
Dividends have always seemed a nice source of real rewards and as such have always played their part in my overall investment strategy but it seems I haven't completely muted the siren call of fast, exciting gains, only suppressed it.

But, its noticeable that, with less holdings, there are now more months without the little excitement of a dividend coming in.

Is that the required discipline? 
It certainly has been, but I have felt that things may have stagnated a little in my portfolio with 2 years of minor falls before a return to a steady double digit gain in each of the last 2 years.
Painful as it was, it might be that turning over and cutting back on my portfolio to release funds for real-life projects turns out to be a blessing in disguise as it has brought new turnaround stories, and more dividends, as well as losing some of the perennial underperformers that hid in the darkest corners of my portfolio.

May 2015: Rolling Dividend Update.

May brought a near avalanche of dividends with Verizon, BAT's, Banco Santander, Aviva, Apple, BG Group, and Barratt Developments all paying out and throwing cash at my portfolio (May 2015: Portfolio Update.).

In the meantime, BP, Microsoft, and Imperial Tobacco started to trade ex. dividend, adding to BAE, Centrica, and William Hill.

So that's currently 6 portfolio holdings trading with an ex. dividend reflected share price, and my portfolio having yet to receive it.

A hidden bit of value, albeit a small one.

	Dps	Ex Div.	Paid
GE	12.72p	19-Feb	27-Apr
BAT	100.60p	19-Mar	07-May
Aviva	12.25p	08-Apr	15-May
Verizon Comm.	30.79p	08-Apr	01-May
Banco Santander	8.74p	14-Apr	04-May
BAE	12.30p	16-Apr	01-Jun
Barratt Dev.	4.80p	23-Apr	22-May
Rolls-Royce	14.10p	23-Apr	01-Jul
BG Group Centrica	9.52p 8.40p	23-Apr 30-Apr	22-May 25-Jun
William Hill	8.20p	30-Apr	05-Jun
Apple	27.90p	07-May	14-May
BP	$0.10 est.	07-May	19-Jun
Microsoft	$0.31 est.	19-May	11-Jun
Imperial Tob.	21.40p	28-May	30-Jun
National Grid	28.16p	04-Jun	05-Aug
Vodafone SSE Imperial Tob.	7.62p 61.80p 21.40p	11-Jun 23-Jul 27-Aug	05-Aug 18-Sep 30-Sep

Looking ahead, I can see 2 more companies due to go ex. dividend in June, Vodafone and National Grid, the second a significant one in context of my portfolio as it is currently the largest actual payout among my holdings.

However, BAE, William Hill, Microsoft, BP, Centrica, and Imperial Tobacco, are due to make deposits into my account, which should reduce the in limbo companies yet to pay to just 2 by the end of June.

Interesting.

Dividend Pipeline!

OK so dividends then.
Obviously I monitor them as month by month receipts into my portfolio but, I'm still running with this idea of monitoring the pipeline so thought I should start by seeing exactly whats in the pipeline.

As briefly referenced, in theory having gone ex dividend, a chunk of a company's capital has been sliced off its share price equivalent to the dividend, therefore trading ex. dividend, but until the dividend is actually paid out, it isn't in either the company's share price, or the shareholders account.

So looking at my portfolio, this is the current window

	Dps	Ex Div.	Paid
GE	12.72p	19-Feb	27-Apr
BAT	100.60p	19-Mar	07-May
Aviva	12.25p	08-Apr	15-May
Verizon Comm.	30.79p	08-Apr	01-May
Banco Santander	8.70p	14-Apr	04-May
BAE	12.30p	16-Apr	01-Jun
Barratt Dev.	4.80p	23-Apr	22-May
Rolls-Royce	14.10p	23-Apr	01-Jul
Centrica	8.40p	30-Apr	25-Jun
William Hill	8.20p	30-Apr	05-Jun
Apple	27.90p	07-May	14-May
BP	$0.10 est.	07-May	19-Jun
Microsoft	$0.31 est.	19-May	11-Jun
Imperial Tob.	21.40p	28-May	30-Jun
National Grid	27.54p est	04-Jun
Vodafone	7.62p	11-Jun	05-Aug

National Grid is based on last year's, as it hasn't yet been declared as results aren't due to be announced until the 21 May.
BP's currently shows in USD, as does Microsoft so they are subject to the exchange rate. The latter also being subject to US withholding tax.

Interesting to see how long some companies take to make the actual payment after the XD date.
Apple has been exceptionally quick, but most seem to be spanning a month, although BAE seem to be around 6 weeks, Vodafone 8 weeks, and (just noticed), Rolls-Royce on 9 weeks!).
But this doesn't show how close the XD date is to the results announcement or even the link to the company's year-end.

Its just an interesting question as to whether delays or lengthy timescales for year-end to results to XD to payment, are used to the advantage of companies and their cashflow?

But that's a tangent, and the goal here is to see the pipeline of dividends, and if needed, to understand how much "cash" is due but not yet in my portfolio, a hidden value.

In this case, BAT, Aviva, Verizon, Banco, and Apple have paid out and it should be in my account.
But Barratt, BAE, Rolls-Royce, Centrica, William Hill, BP and Microsoft are all trading with XD share prices, affecting my portfolio, but I'm not yet looking at the complete picture as the dividends have not yet been paid to complete the circle.

If nothing else it shows me that the wheels are still turning as we move into the middle third of the year.