This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, PII, PPG, and SJW.
| Ticker | Account Value |
| FMCB | 3,123.00 |
| PII | 1,099.34 |
| PPG | 3,199.56 |
| SJW | 3,041.01 |
The lowest amount belongs to PII which last traded at $57.86. Therefore, I will acquire 5 shares of PII on Monday. Below, is the purchase history and average cost calculation.
On 2024-12-31, the equally weighted S&P 500 Index [SPXEW] closed at $7,100.83, up 10.9% for the year excluding dividends. But it does include an atrocious -6.4% return in December. December’s performance is a reminder that account value, whether we like it or not, is transitory. Unrealized gains are just that, unrealized. Account value only becomes real when you cash in all your chips and get out of the game.
December turned a great year into a good year. Royal Dividends is still in the game and this quick update aims to focus on what is most important, dividends.
…This week is the third and final ‘off’ week intended to restore the $250+ per week pace of investment which became necessary with the establishment of a position in BDX. Read on to find out which position would have been most worthy of new money.
This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: BDX, PII, PPG, and SJW.
| Ticker | Account Value |
| BDX | 1,370.94 |
| PII | 1,091.17 |
| PPG | 3,370.64 |
| SJW | 3,110.94 |
The lowest amount belongs to PII. There is nothing precluding further investment in that position, other than it being an ‘off’ week.
…The longest call option I’ve ever sold, 228 days, has expired worthless. I was hoping LEG would climb from $13.95 to $15.00+ so that the shares would be called away and the position could be closed at a profit. It got as high as $14.24 and closed at $9.69 on Friday. The recent sell off is likely the product of tax loss harvesting, but I would not rule out a concerted effort on the part of big money to take out Royal Dividends. That’s right, I said it. Time to acknowledge that I’m going to be in this for the long haul, and accordingly, get more aggressive.
Selling to Open: 3 March 21, 2025 $12.50 Call Options [Symbol: LEG250321C12.5]
Limit Order Price: Credit of $0.40 per share
The last covered calls brought in $448.46 and this time I’m hoping for just $120.00 before commissions, and at a lower strike to boot. LEG needs to climb above $10.00 to trigger this order, so it may have to work for a bit. LEG needs to get off the schneid.
The covered call on VZ has expired worthless to some absolute sucker. I kid faceless stranger! In the 123 days this call was part of the portfolio, VZ actually traded slightly above $45.00, even four days in row as we crossed from September into October. Since then, VZ has fallen with the broader market, and it closed at $39.93 on Friday. That’s $35.49 of free money and time to rinse and repeat.
Selling to Open: 1 April 17, 2025 $45.00 Call Option [Symbol: VZ250417C45]
Limit Order Price: Credit of $0.40 per share
This order may have to work for a bit to execute.
This week is the second of three ‘off’ weeks intended to restore the $250+ per week pace of investment which became necessary with the establishment of a position in BDX. Read on to find out which position would have been most worthy of new money.
This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, PII, PPG, and SJW.
| Ticker | Account Value |
| FMCB | 3,060.06 |
| PII | 1,099.34 |
| PPG | 3,365.88 |
| SJW | 3,162.60 |
The lowest amount belongs to PII. There is nothing precluding further investment in that position, other than it being an ‘off’ week.
…This week is the first of three ‘off’ weeks intended to restore the $250+ per week pace of investment which became necessary with the establishment of a position in BDX. Read on to find out which position would have been most worthy of new money.
This week, five of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: BDX, FMCB, MDT, PPG, and SJW.
| Ticker | Account Value |
| BDX | 1,353.36 |
| FMCB | 3,118.50 |
| MDT | 2,226.96 |
| PPG | 3,476.76 |
| SJW | 3,422.79 |
No surprise, the lowest amount belongs to BDX. There is nothing precluding further investment in that position, other than it being an ‘off’ week. All that remains to discuss is FMCB.
…This week, three of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top 10: FMCB, PPG, and SJW.
| Ticker | Account Value |
| FMCB | 3,195.00 |
| PPG | 3,515.96 |
| SJW | 3,338.37 |
The lowest amount belongs to FMCB. Earlier this week I placed a GTC limit order to acquire another share of FMCB at $975 (see 2024-12-01 post) and that order has not executed. The truth is, acquiring one more share of FMCB at its current price of $1,065 would create a position imbalance within the portfolio, leaving only ABBV, PII, EPD, FRT, and NNN eligible for additional investment. Unfortunately, none of these positions made the Top Ten. That can only mean one thing:
It is time to add a new position to the Portfolio for the Ages!
…Over the last few weeks, Royal Dividends has been alternatively adding to the SJW and PPG positions, and to a lesser degree, GRC, TGT, and MDT. However, FMCB has been in the Top Ten each week, but its price has managed to climb just enough to avoid being the portfolio stock with the lowest amount in the Top Ten. It is just a matter of time before another share of FMCB is officially recommended, so I want to be proactive.
…This week, four of the portfolio holdings ranked in the Top Ten: FMCB, PPG, QCOM, and SJW.
| Ticker | Account Value |
| FMCB | 3,270.00 |
| PPG | 3,482.36 |
| QCOM | 3,646.19 |
| SJW | 3,231.76 |
The lowest amount belongs to SJW which last traded at $55.72. Therefore, I will acquire 5 shares of SJW on Monday. Please see the post on 2024-11-16 for a high-level look at SJW’s performance over the last 16 years. Below, is the purchase history and average cost calculation.
