Dividend income March 2024 — Documenting monthly dividend income to chronicle the journey to financial independence. I am not a licensed investment advisor and this post is not investment advice. All opinions are my own. This post contains links to Wealthsimple and display ads from Monumetric.
The Dividend Income Investor blog is pleased to announce dividend income results for March 2024.
Dividend Income March 2024 Highlights
- Total dividend income earned in March 2024 was $160.72
- Year-over-year (YOY) dividend income increased by 22% or $28.80 compared to March 2023
- Year-to-date (YTD) dividend income (January – March 2024) is up to $467.10
- YTD dividend income is up by 52% or $160.55 compared to the first three months of 2023
- Average monthly dividend income in 2024 is $155.70 (up 25% or $30.94 per month compared to 2023)
- All-time dividend income since June 2017 reached $5762.60
- Dividend income per day in March 2024 reached $5.18
- 1 dividend raise was announced by Power Corporation of Canada (POW)
- 12 holdings paid dividends in March 2024
Dividend Income March 2024 Results — $160.72
Total dividend income in March 2024 was $160.72, which represents a 22% year-over-year increase compared to March 2023. In dollars, it’s an increase of $28.80 compared to the $131.92 received during the same month last year.
To put this month’s numbers in perspective, it’s the third highest sum of dividend income ever received within one month. The highest months on record are $183.15 in January 2024 and $164.39 in December 2023. Although the year-over-year dividend growth rate dipped compared to the first two months of 2024, it was still well above last year’s average.
Year-to-date dividend income has reached $467.10, which is up by an impressive 52% or $160.55 compared to the first three months of 2023.
One negative trend observed is that quarter-over-quarter (QOQ) growth continued to decline. In fact, QOQ dividend income actually decreased since last quarter (December 2023). This is directly related to saving more cash, and recently selling all covered call ETFs. The reasons for selling all covered call ETFs were discussed in the operational highlights of last month’s post. In short, total return is the main priority. Besides that, I have been taking risk off the table and saving more cash than usual because I can earn 4% on cash in my Wealthsimple account. I am still debating if interest income should be included in these reports. For the time being, interest income is not included.
After factoring in March’s dividend income, all-time dividend income since June 2017 reached $5762.60. I’m only a month or two away from reaching $6000 in all-time dividend income. The climb from $5000 to $6000 is seemingly happening a lot faster than the climb from $4000 to $5000.
Operational Highlights
Reminder: I am not a licensed investment advisor and this post is not investment advice. You should always seek professional investment advice from a licensed investment advisor before investing. I am only sharing what I am doing with investing. None of the stocks mentioned are recommendations to purchase investments. All opinions are my own.
A total of 12 holdings paid dividend income in March 2024. This is down by two since the previous quarter, which is a welcome sight.
The preceding months saw 19 holdings pay in January 2024 and 17 holdings pay in February 2024. As such, I intentionally reduced the number of holdings in my portfolio by 8 last month. I sold JEPQ, ZWC, TSLY, PLC, BMO, PLTR, XEI, and a small ETH position.
Trades In March 2024
In the interest of total return and to have more substantially-sized positions in fewer stocks, I continued the trend of reducing the number of holdings in my portfolio in March. I sold SIS, ZDI, HMMJ, and ZMMK. For the record, ZMMK is a money market ETF that I tend to park funds in temporarily while waiting for better opportunities. It’s likely that I will own it again soon. And ZDI is an ETF that could be added again down the road for international dividend exposure. But with the market rallying like it has, and considering that I can earn 4% on cash, I decided that there are better opportunities at present.
First Dividend From META
A highlight worth mentioning is that I received my first dividend payment from META in March 2024.
Now you know how many shares I own. Unfortunately, it’s only two shares.
I originally began investing in META back in February 2022 (I even wrote a blog post about it here). I planned to buy more and am confident I would have, based on my level of conviction. But I ended up buying a house in late 2022, which halted my investment activity and investing any new capital.
Nevertheless, I am up around 130% on my position and am now receiving dividends. It turned out to be a fantastic investment.
Business As Usual
Otherwise, it was business as usual for the portfolio in March. I’ve been adding to stocks that are sensitive to interest rate changes and saving a lot of cash. I also added to Power Corporation of Canada following the earnings report when the stock dipped.
Here is a breakdown of which stocks paid dividends in March 2024 from highest to lowest payer:
Outlook
I expect full-year dividend income to be in the range of $2000, unchanged from my 2024 financial goals.
Reaching $2000 would represent a 34% year-over-year dividend growth rate compared to the $1497.18 received in 2023. This guidance means I am expecting the dividend growth rate to triple compared to the 11% YOY growth in 2023.
Based on the $467.10 received so far in 2024, I must earn at least $1532.90 more, which is still more than I earned in total last year. Broken down monthly, I must earn at least $170.32 per month for the remainder of the year.
Based on this year’s average monthly dividend income ($155.70), I am falling slightly behind. If I continue to average $155.70 per month, the portfolio will end up generating $1868.40.
Despite being slightly behind, I am still confident that I will be able to achieve my $2000 target dividend income.
Of course, I will continue to rely on the three dividend growth levers (reinvesting dividends | dividend raises | investing new capital).
Fortunately, one dividend raise was announced this month from Power Corporation of Canada (POW). POW announced a 7.1% dividend raise. This raise added $4.35 in annual dividend income.
The dividend reinvestment lever added $7.24 in annual income in March 2024.
Also worth mentioning is that $25.59 in annual dividend income has been added this year by reinvesting capital gains. Perhaps it should be added as one of the dividend growth levers. However, as a long-term investor, capital gains are not a consistent enough part of my investment strategy, at least at this point in my investing career.
In regards to investing capital, I am beginning to allocate more of my savings to investing again, now that I’ve saved up a substantial sum of cash.
Final Thoughts
In summary, dividend income in March 2024 was $160.72. This represents a 22% year-over-year increase compared to March 2023. Also worth noting is that it was the third highest sum of dividend income ever received within one month.
Year-to-date dividend income is now $467.10, which is up by an impressive 52% or $160.55 compared to the first three months of 2023.
Moreover, my target dividend income for 2024 remains unchanged, as I still expect to receive at least $2000 in dividends by the end of the year.
Overall, it was another strong month for the investment portfolio. In addition to tracking the dividend income, I will continue to monitor my total investment returns and compare performance to the S&P 500. My goal is to maintain an income-centric portfolio with a low-risk profile that is competitive with the S&P 500. Ideally, my portfolio will stay competitive in the good years and outperform in the down years.
Stay tuned for more exciting dividend income updates in 2024 as the snowball grows!
Related Dividend Income Updates To Check Out
Dividend Income March 2023 — $131.92
Dividend Income February 2024 — $123.23
All Dividend Income Updates Since June 2017
I am not a licensed investment or tax adviser. All opinions are my own. This post may contain advertisements by Monumetric and Google Adsense. This post may also contain internal links, affiliate links to BizBudding, Amazon, Bluehost, and Questrade, links to trusted external sites, and links to RTC social media accounts.
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Dividend Income February 2024 — Dividend Income Investor Reports Strong Results; $123.23 (55% YOY Increase)
