This post is already about the last month of the first quarter of 2019. January and February are in the books, both with a dividend income above the $200 and double-digit growth numbers. Each month the numbers are getting bigger and bigger. This is great and it really feels like I’m getting closer and closer to my goal of financial independence. Let’s find out if the last month of this quarter was also a month of a record high number!

Income Numbers

The amount of dividend income for month 2019/03 was $141.68. In this month I got three raises in dividend income from BlackRock (BLK), Norfolk Southern (NSC) and Union Pacific (UNP) as compared to the dividend payment three months ago. This was the second raise in one year for all three companies. What a fantastic businesses!

BlackRock (BLK) continued its streak of rising dividend payouts and rewarded its investors with a 5.4% quarterly dividend hike. The low payout ratio of 35% indicates that the current dividend is well-covered by the company’s earnings. BlackRock’s current dividend payout ratio is also lower than the company’s 40% average ratio over the past five years. Very nice! Norfolk Southern (NSC) announced in January that its board of directors approved an 8% increase in its quarterly dividend, from 80 to 86 cents per share. Their payout ratio sits around a low 34%. Union Pacific increased their dividend from $0.80 to $0.88 a share, a nice 10% increase. This comes down to a very conservative payout ratio of 40%. Union Pacific (UNP) recorded their ninth consecutive year of dividend increases.

This month also included a higher dividend payment by BlackRrock (BLK) and Exxon Mobil (XOM), because of my bigger stake in these companies. I really like to increase my positions in these companies. My dividend income for the month of March was generated by:

Bank of America (BAC) – $5.85

BlackRock (BLK) – $13.20

Cummins (CMI) – $11.40

Emerson Electric (EMR) – $4.90

Norfolk Southern (NSC) – $5.16

Realty Income (O) – $3.83

PepsiCo – $8.35

Southern Company (SO) – $21.00

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) – $7.92

Union Pacific (UNP) – $5.28

Exxon Mobil (XOM) – $46.74

Breakdown of Dividend Income YoY

My passive income in the month of March last year was $130.14 so that’s an increase of 9% YoY. That’s on the low side for me. Especially after the YoY growth numbers of January and February. The progress QoQ was a bit lower, just 7%. The dividend income for March 2019 leads to the next graph:

Buys In March

During this month I added 10 stocks to my position in CVS Caremark (CVS) for a price of  $55.39. This additional buy brought down my average buy price. It’s now slightly above $61 and the yield on cost from this position has gone up to 3.27%.

I also initiated a position in JP Morgan Chase (JPM). This one has been on my radar since 2016. It was trading in the $55 – 60 range back then, but I wanted it get down to the low $50’s. Well, now I finally bought 6 stocks for $103.81. ☺️ I stepped in at a dividend yield of 2.80%. When it gets below the $100, I’m on it. I want this to be a meaningful position.

Dividend Income YTD 2019

Including the month of March I collected a nice $629.02 YTD. My total dividend income in 2018 was $1,793.09. It sure looks like I’m going to crush this number. What a feeling 👍