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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.

Given the surge in TDS to above $17, I have chosen to roll up and out once again.

In the same, two-legged, GTC option order:

Buy to Close: (3) November 17, 2023 $17.50 Call Options [Symbol: TDS231117C17.5]

Sell to Open: (3) February 16, 2024 $20.00 Call Options [Symbol: TDS240216C20]

Limit Order Price:  Credit of $0.05 per share

I was fortunate enough to get a small credit. Truth be told, I think TDS (and USM for that matter) have risen an awful lot simply because some executives announced that they were looking at ‘strategic alternatives’ for USM. Let’s be honest, don’t we expect the decision makers to be doing this all the time?

Last week’s purchase of 1 share of FMCB for $980, requires that I abstain from the regular $250+ weekly investment for two consecutive weeks in order to maintain a $250+ per week average. This week will count as the first of those two weeks. However, there is $467.45 of accumulated dividends and option premiums available to be invested. The covered calls sold on TDS on Friday brought in enough premium to put the accumulation pool well above the $250 threshold. Why let that money burn a hole in ma pants?!

Read on to learn how this cold, hard cash will be deployed.

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Dividend King of the Week [BKH][2]Read More »

Earlier today, I sold three August 18, 2023 $15.00 Call Options [Symbol: TDS230818C15] and collected a $0.55 per share. However, given the afternoon surge in TDS to above $14, I have chosen to roll up and out. The details are below.

In the same, two-legged, GTC option order:

Buy to Close: (3) August 18, 2023 $15.00 Call Options [Symbol: TDS230818C15]

Sell to Open: (3) November 17, 2023 $17.50 Call Options [Symbol: TDS231117C17.5]

Limit Order Price:  Credit of $0.38 per share

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Rolling a Covered Call [TDS]Read More »

I am going to set up a Limit Order on a Good Until Cancelled (GTC) basis. There are 345 shares of TDS in the portfolio and therefore, I can sell 3 contracts this time.

Selling to Open: 3 August 18, 2023 $15.00 Call Options [Symbol: TDS230818C15]

Limit Order Price:  Credit of $0.55 per share

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

Ticker	Account Value
FMCB	1,964.44
MMM	2,573.24
MO	2,638.42
TDS	2,770.35

The lowest amount belongs to FMCB. FMCB last traded at $982.22. Therefore, in order to invest a minimum of $250 in FMCB, I need to purchase 1 share this Monday. As the anticipated investment is greater than $750 but less than $1,000, I will suspend the weekly investment of $250 for two consecutive weeks after this acquisition. In fact, I can invest no more than $997 without causing an exposure breach among the most heavily weighted stocks.

FMCB trades over the counter (OTC), and the current bid/ask spread is $958.75/$1,000.00. I will submit a limit order to purchase 1 share for no more than $980 and then raise the limit gradually, going no higher than $997 until the order processes. I expect I will acquire this 1 share for $985.

If the order doesn’t process on Monday, I may close the order and announce a different trade for the week to be executed on Tuesday. Stay tuned.

Below, is the purchase history and average cost calculation.

This is the final week in a three-week stretch in which I am abstaining from the usual $250+ investment into the portfolio, thus maintaining the $250+ per week average. Nevertheless, I go through the motions for the most devout readers.

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

Ticker	Account Value
FMCB	1,970.00
MMM	2,399.59
MO	2,644.80
TDS	2,749.65

The lowest amount belongs to FMCB.

Earnings season has kicked off. Two of the positions in the Portfolio for the Ages have already reported their quarterly earnings, PPG and FMCB. Both companies announced record earnings and beat analyst estimates accordingly. It is good to see these two Kings lead the way. Next week we learn how ABBV and MMM faired during the second quarter.