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This is the first of three weeks where I am refraining from the usual investment of $250+ into the portfolio, in an effort to restore the $250+ per week average. Below, I present how things would have gone.

This week, five of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: BKH, MMM, NNN, PII, and TGT.

Ticker	Account Value
BKH	1,062.39
MMM	2,153.26
NNN	918.84
PII	1,041.40
TGT	1,105.70

The lowest amount belongs to NNN. However, an investment into any sector other than Health Care or Materials would only continue the imbalance in the portfolio, created largely by the outperformance of TDS. However, there are no companies from either sector in the Top Ten. If I were to simply extend the Top 10 to the Top 19, medical device maker Medtronic PLC [MDT] would make the list. It would be a brand-new position in the portfolio. The sector imbalance is negligible, however, and all sectors may very well be eligible for additional investment in three weeks.

This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top 10: MMM, NNN, QCOM and TGT.

Ticker	Account Value
MMM	2,231.92
NNN	938.34
QCOM	2,476.64
TGT	1,126.00

The lowest amount belongs to NNN. However, there are imbalances in the portfolio, from both a stock perspective and a sector perspective, due to the outperformance of TDS in recent weeks. Three sectors are ‘eligible’ for additional investment at this time: Consumer Discretionary, Health Care, and Materials. None of the four stocks above are from these sectors. Materials and Health Care are nowhere to be found in the entire Top Ten. However, the Top Ten does include one stock from the Consumer Discretionary sector coming in at #7. Investing $1,000 into this stock will put the portfolio back into alignment from a sector perspective and substantially improve the balance from a stock perspective.

Folks, it is time to add a new position to the Portfolio for the Ages!

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Dividend Stock of the Week [PII]Read More »

This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top 10: MMM, MO, NNN, and QCOM.

Ticker	Account Value
MMM	2,324.38
MO	2,524.74
NNN	992.42
QCOM	2602.22

The lowest amount belongs to NNN. However, due to portfolio imbalances created largely by the outsized performance of TDS, there is only one sector in which any additional investment won’t further exacerbate the imbalances, and that sector is Materials. If I keep the same criterion for selecting the Top 10, but extend the ranking out to a Top 20, the first Materials stock, PPG, comes in at #20. After performing a sort that favors Dividend Kings for their dividend safety, PPG comes in at #11. With only $936.60 in PPG, it is even more worthy of additional investment than NNN. It is a good time to add to the PPG position as it is trading about 12% off of recent highs.

PPG last traded at $133.80. Therefore, in order to invest a minimum of $250 in PPG, I need to purchase 2 shares this Monday.  Below, is the purchase history and average cost calculation.

This is the third and final week in which I am abstaining from the usual $250+ investment into the portfolio in order to reestablish the $250+ per week average. Below, I present how things would have gone.

This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: MMM, MO, NNN, and QCOM.

Ticker	Account Value
MMM	2,443.52
MO	2,556.64
NNN	989.30
QCOM	2,441.22

The lowest amount belongs to NNN. However, an investment into any sector other than Materials would only continue the imbalance in the portfolio, created largely by the outperformance of TDS. However, there are no companies from the Materials sector in the Top Ten. If I were to relax no requirements whatsoever, but simply extend the Top 10 to the Top 26, PPG would make the list. Then, because it is a Dividend King, it would make #17 in the sorted Top 26. Thus, barring some unforeseen circumstances, I would have placed the $250 into PPG.

TDS has fallen back below $19 and thus, the $20 covered call that expires in February is looking a little safer. I may still look at opportunities to roll it up and out into May depending on what the situation looks like when that expiration date becomes available in a week or so.

This is the second of three weeks in which I am abstaining from the usual $250+ investment into the portfolio in order to reestablish the $250+ per week average. For the truly bored, I present how things would have gone below.

This week, five of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: BKH, FMCB, MMM, MO, and QCOM.

Ticker	Account Value
BKH	1,149.54
FMCB	2,851.71
MMM	2,459.85
MO	2,558.38
QCOM	2,653.97

The lowest amount belongs to BKH. However, an investment into any sector other than Materials would only continue the imbalance in the portfolio, created largely by the outperformance of TDS. However, there are no companies from the Materials sector in the Top Ten. If the requirement to rank only those stocks with 10% expected total returns were relaxed to 9.3% AND if the fair value cap of 100% were lifted to 102%, the highest ranked Materials stock would be an existing holding, PPG, coming in at #18. Thus, I likely would have placed the $250 into PPG. There simply are not a lot of purchase opportunities in the five Materials stocks in the Empire.

TDS has climbed above the $20 strike price with 167 days before expiry. I am not particularly happy to see gains on 300 of the 345 shares capped at this point and thus, I will look for an opportunity to roll up and out into May 2024 when that expiry month becomes available in the option chain in a couple of weeks. Rolling all the way out to December 2024 is simply not of interest to me at this time.

Due to last week’s $1,000+ investment into new portfolio holding NNN, this will be the first of three weeks in which I am abstaining from the usual $250+ investment into the portfolio; this maintains the $250+ per week average. Below I go through the motions as if an investment were being made this week.

This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: MMM, MO, QCOM, and TGT.

Ticker	Account Value
MMM	2,275.85
MO	2,532.86
QCOM	2,537.36
TGT	1,217.90

The lowest amount belongs to TGT. However, an investment into any sector other than Materials would only continue the imbalance in the portfolio, created largely by the outperformance of TDS. However, there are no companies from the Materials sector in the Top Ten. If the requirement to rank only those stocks with an expectation of 10% annualized total returns were relaxed to 9.9%, the highest ranked Materials stock would be an existing holding, PPG, coming in at #26. Thus, I would have placed the $250 into PPG. No matter, we’ll just have to see how things shake out in three weeks.

This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top 10: FMCB, MMM, MO, and TGT.

Ticker	Account Value
FMCB	2,862.01
MMM	2,300.23
MO	2,488.78
TGT	1,312.10

The lowest amount belongs to TGT. However, there are imbalances in the portfolio, from both a stock perspective and a sector perspective, due to the outperformance of TDS in recent weeks. The sector balance can be nearly restored with an investment into Real Estate. There were no such stocks in the Top Ten, but one does finally make the list if the ranking is extended to a Top 13 (we welcome QCOM into the list at this point as well – yes, they’re not in real estate, and are more heavily weighted than TGT, but we can still say hello, can’t we?).

Investing $250 into TGT would alleviate some of the stock imbalance but exacerbate the relative underweighting of Real Estate and so ladies and gentlemen, it is time to add a new position to the Portfolio for the Ages!

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Dividend Stock of the Week [NNN]Read More »

This is the second week in a two-week stretch in which I am abstaining from the usual $250+ investment into the portfolio, thus maintaining the $250+ per week average. Of course, because I would hear about it from an untold number of readers, I will go through the motions as if an investment were being made this week.

This week, five of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, MMM, MO, and TDS.

Ticker	Account Value
FMCB	2,895.00
MMM	2,404.65
MO	2,536.34
QCOM	2,636.03
TGT	1,310.50

The lowest amount belongs to TGT. However, an investment into any sector other than Materials will only continue the imbalance in the portfolio, created largely by the outperformance of TDS. However, there are no companies from the Materials sector in the Top Ten. The highest ranked Materials stock would be an existing holding, PPG, coming in at #20. I’d have been tempted to simply go with TGT this week, because they announce earnings on August 16th, and I have a good feeling about that announcement. Next week, when I have to put my money where my mouth is, the decision is likely to be equally difficult.