A Well Overdue Dividend and Stock-Split Update

On June 9, 2014, Apple (AAPL) did a 7:1 stock split. This made the stock a little more affordable to buy at $100/share ($99.76 as of 9:42am PST 10/03/14) compared to $592.74 on 05/15/2014.  Since the split, Apple announced and released their new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus phone models to compete in the "phablet" market. On pre-order weekend, Apple said that they took 4 million units for pre-order. This is a high number considering their Apple Store website failed to open and take orders on time. This failure added to the stress the carrier websites experience as they also struggled to take in pre-orders. On launch weekend, Apple said they sold 10 million phones and that is not even including China (Which they are about to sell on  Oct 17).

I expect Apple to sell maybe another 5-10 million phones if Fortune.com's article is accurate. Nevertheless, these new iPhone models are hits and we'll find out in Apple's next earnings call just how much of a hit these new phones are.

Apple also announced new products and services.  The Apple Watch which will come out early 2015 is meant to be a fashionable companion to the iPhone. Since no one outside of the few media outlets have seen the watch in real life, I would have to reserve judgment on whether it would be a success. Personally, I'll have to wait for version 2 or at least a price cut. A watch that starts at $349 is a huge gamble and I expect an increase on watch thefts so I hope Apple also includes a "kill switch" on these new watches. 

The Apple Pay service is the true product I am excited for. Apple is now positioned to make money on every Visa/Mastercard transaction (both brick & mortar and online) each Apple Pay user makes. This is huge. With over half a billion accounts on file and partnerships with Visa/Mastercard, Whole Foods, McDonald's to name a few, Apple is about to make NFC transactions mainstream.  Sure, Google Wallet may have done it first but Apple's "It Just Works" philosophy is going to ease in the non-techie consumer. I will keep an eye on Apple Pay.

As usual, I received dividend payouts from April 2014 thru today:  

Upcoming Dividend Payouts:

I am so sorry for being absent these past few months. School and vacations took up majority of my time and I don't see it getting easier in the near future. Nevertheless, I'll try my best to update this blog and keep track of my portfolio. I have a few ideas that I'm researching on and hopefully on my next post, I can share these new positions I'm looking into. 

Dividends, Annual Returns, Lululemon's Future and 2014

Hello again.

 

(Photo credit: http://sistersgrimm.wikia.com/wiki/File:Miss_me.gif)

Did you miss me?

It has been a while (again) since my last post.  I have school, travel and many essays to blame for that.  Safe to say I am a busy person but what matters now is that I have a few hours free to right this simple and short update.  I have an upcoming buy. I have a free credit from my broker that allows me to get a free automatic investment plan transaction. So, without further ado, here is my dividend update:

Ticker Symbol	Date	Dividend payout	Dividend per share	Shares bought	Price per share
MO	01/10/2014	$9.41	$0.48	0.2526	$37.25
MDLZ	01/14/2014	$3.72	$0.14	0.1057	$35.19
AAPL	02/13/2014	$6.77	$3.05	0.0126	$537.30
ETP	02/14/2014	$11.18	$0.92	0.2065	$54.14
XLNX	02/27/2014	$2.33	$0.25	0.0447	$52.13
WM	03/21/2014	$4.69	$0.38	0.1142	$41.07
KRFT	01/17/2014	$2.14	$0.53	0.0391	$54.73

 

Here's the ex-dividend update:

 

Ticker Symbol	Ex-dividend date	Dividend per share	Payout date
KRFT	04/09/2014	$0.53	04/25/2014
MDLZ	03/27/2014	$0.14	04/14/2014
XLNX	05/12/2014	$0.29	06/04/2014

And for other news:

I still believe in Lululemon (LULU). LULU just had a horrible 2013. The sheer yoga pants issue. The departure of CEO Christine Day. The founder's controversial comments that hurt the sentiments of its core customers.  LULU is down 50% from its 52-week high and the yoga apparel competition continues to heat up.  The weather and the polar vortex did not help either.  But with this long list of troubles, why would I be bullish on LULU?  First, the stock is now cheap.  It's PEG ratio is at a low of 1.42 (with 1.0 being the magical "under valued" ratio). Besides, I think the stock is or close to bottoming out and that the initial fear and loathing of LULU is subsiding.  LULU is also launching a new apparel collection called &Go.  The new line includes sun dress, pants and tank tops that should resonate well with LULU's target market.  As expected, this new line would have premium prices which should help with profit margins. 

I am cautiously optimistic on LULU.  I hope to buy a few shares at close to $47/share when the automatic investment transaction executes on Tuesday. 

I am also planning to buy more Waste Management (WM).  I need to balance out the portfolio. I also expect the spring season's that would bring out more trash and by products that would need WM's services.  I am a bit disappointed that I just missed the Ex-dividend date (Dividend payout is today). I could sleep at night knowing that WM is one of my more "productive" positions.  The PEG ratio is a bit more than LULU (making LULU the "cheaper" stock) at 2.54. The dividend and the stock's strong performance give me the confidence that our money is not wasted in WM.  I hope, we'll get a slight pull back so I can get WM at around $40/share.

2014 so far has been a bullish time for the Market.  Yes, we've had some pullbacks and down days but in general, it does seem that the bull market is still alive and well.  Am I concerned.  A little. I have been hearing whispers that say we're due for some market correction.  Yet, with the recent IPO fever. The Market has been experiencing in recent months, I think the Market still has enough juice to carry us through 2014.  Ending on a slightly related note, I might look into Disney and Netflix for 2015. 

Well, my friends, that would be it for now.  I wish I can promise more regular scheduled posts. But I will update whenever I have the time and any notable news and opinions.

Getting In on APPLE (AAPL)

The market has been down lately... especially on Tech Stocks.

Today, AAPL closed 15.33 down off it's 52-week high. Over 4% drop from the high and from today's range, almost broke the 5% pullback.

I think it's time to get in on AAPL.

Here's why:
1. Close to 5% pullback.
2. WWDC 2011 is coming up in June where Apple is expected to release it's new OS (Mac OSX Lion).  Also, the iPhone 5 might make an appearance (although highly doubtful per analysts and sources close to the matter).
3. A version of the iMac just came out with 2 Thunderbolt ports.
4. The white iPhone 4 finally came out and on WWDC, Apple would probably announce how much white iPhone 4's they sold.
5. RIMM is bringing Black Berry Messenger (BBM) to Android and iOS. This might convince BB users to finally switch to iOS or Android.  Either way, AAPL will have a greater profit margin since they control hardware and software distribution of the iOS devices.
6. Analysts and project AAPL to reach $400 in the next few months.

Therefore, I took $1000.00 from my reserves (which I will not do often) and put in my new Automatic Investment  Plan (to be executed on Tuesday, May 10).  I put in $750 for AAPL which would buy me 2.13 shares (@$350/share + $4 fee).  The $140 will be used to buy LULU that would fetch me 1.44 shares (@$94/share + $4 fee).  LULU is down 9.33% off it's 52-week high of $102.83.  A great way to buy some more LULU ahead of it's expected 2 for 1 stock split and Annual Stockholder's Meeting.  Finally, I allocated $110 to buy 2.94 shares of XLNX (@$36/share + $4 fee).  XLNX has bee rebounding lately and the X-Dividend date is coming up (May 16).  Might as well get those juicy dividends.

I know with my AAPL purchase, I may have 2 tech stocks and would unbalance my diversification.  However, with XLNX rebounding and the dividend distribution coming up, it makes good sense to keep XLNX and AAPL is also a great long term investment.

I will review my opinion of XLNX after the dividend distribution and earnings call.

New Rules

My Automatic Investment Plan just Posted.

Here's a summary of the transaction:
04/12/2011 - Transaction History - Buy
Ticker             Price/ Principal Amount               Fee                     Total
GLD              $141.08/ $146.00                    $4.00                     $150.00  (GLD Closed at $141.61 - Good!)
XLNX           $30.69/ $36.00                        $4.00                     $40.00    (XLNX Closed at $30.64 - Down)
WM              $37.75/ $76.00                        $4.00                     $80.00    (WM Closed at $37.67 - Down)

So I learned that Sharebuilder will collection commissions (fees) within the investment amount I put in for each position.  Basically, I could have invested my $300 and the fees would have been included within the $300 investment rather than getting charged the fee after.  This is good for those who are a bit cash strapped.  However, the $4 per investment could have bought some more "mini" shares of my stock positions.

Anyway, I just have to put in some NEW RULES for our Investment Strategy:

1. I will always keep 10% of my portfolio in CASH.  The reason is to have some cash on hand to catch bargain stocks and have some liquid cash for other purposes.

2. I will have ONLY 10% of my portfolio in Gold (GLD).  Gold is just a hedge for me. I do not plan to get rich off gold.

3. Each position will ONLY cover 20-25% of my portfolio.  This is to keep my diversity and spread out my risk across my portfolio.

First Automatic Investment Plan

My recurring deposit on April 11 will be available on April 12.
The automatic investment plan will be executed on April 12.

Here's what I put in: $300

$150 for (GLD) SPDR GOLD TRUST ETF
- My gold hedge.  I plan to have 10% of my portfolio in gold.  Since I cannot afford to stock the actual gold, the ETF would do.

$80 (WM) Waste Management
- Another dividend play. With a 3.60% dividend yield, this Industrial/Waste Management stock is very attractive to me.  Add to the fact that they have multiple streams of income (Collection/Recycling/Transfer/Disposal of waste, Recycling Materials (aluminum,etc) Brokerage, Rental of Port-o-Lets to municipalities and commercial customers, Self-storage, Street Sweeping and Land Fill contracts).  Only hindrances are Government regulations, Competitive market and fuel costs.

$40 (XLNX) Xilinx Inc
- Building up my position before the next earnings date 04/27/11.

Total Investments = $270
Total Fees: $12 ($4 each trade)

Week Lessons

I just did a rear view mirror look of my investment moves last week.

Even though the market value of my investments are up, I'm still behind due to the fees that was charged to me to execute my trades.

Recap:
Total Money Put in fund: $200 + $50 bonus = $250.00.
Market Value of investments: $221.55 (as of 9:58 am PST)
Loss: $28.45
Fees paid $29.85.

Lessons learned:
Purchase positions that would bring more bang for my buck after fees.
ex: Buy 5 LULU at $90 each ($450) at one time with only $9.95 paid in fees instead of 5 different trades of LULU at $90 each ($450) and pay $49.75 ($9.95x5) in fees.  Whatever dollar cost averaging discount I get from buying in different times would have been eaten by the fees.

Plan of action: Perhaps do a monthly trade of blocks of stocks instead of buying one-by-one.  Also, do the automatic investment plan where the fees would be $4 instead of $9.95.

Finally Got LULU

Today I finally got LULU at $89.00.

It's 4 points up from when I started following it on 03/28/2011.  Thanks to a pullback where people took in some profits, LULU is back down from $92 to where i finally got my LO of $89.00.

Also, today I just got the $50 account bonus for opening a new account.  This money will be used to buy more stocks.  I'm looking at Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. or ETP.  I need to do more homework.

Stay tuned.