August 2025 Dividend Stock Watch List

As I'm writing this blog post, it's Friday, July 4th. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin is set to reach a high of 92 degrees Fahrenheit, with a sunny forecast.

With that aside, I have likely completed all of my stock purchases for July 2025. As a result, I'm going to be looking at a few stocks on my watch list for next month.

Dividend Stock #1: Alphabet (GOOGL)

First up on my watch list for August 2025 is Alphabet. I have added to my position in this stock multiple times this year and it's still sitting a bit below my 5% to 6% targeted weight. Those interested in my investment thesis can find it in my June 2025 Stock Watch List blog post and this Seeking Alpha article.

The gist of my thesis is that GOOGL has many avenues to drive future growth. These include Gemini, Google Cloud, and YouTube.

The company also announced its first dividend raise. A 5% increase in the quarterly dividend per share to $0.21 was less than I expected. Still, I believe this is the first of many very strong payout boosts to come for GOOGL. The 0.5% yield is modest but the payout ratio is sub-10%. GOOGL's AA+ credit rating from S&P on a stable outlook certainly helps, too. 

At the current $180 share price, the stock is trading at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of just above 18. That's much cheaper than the 10-year average P/E ratio of 24.9 per FAST Graphs and under my fair value estimate of $221 a share.

Dividend Stock #2: Realty Income (O)

Next up on my watch list for next month is Realty Income. Like GOOGL, I have also added to O several times so far in 2025. My weight is a bit off my 5% target. Curious readers can find my investment thesis in my May 2025 Stock Watch List blog post and my recent Seeking Alpha article.

Overall, I believe that the $14 trillion total addressable market in the United States and Europe provides O with a lengthy growth runway. The company is just scratching the surface in Europe, where competition is limited. I'm reasonably confident that this can drive average annual AFFO per share growth in the mid-single-digits over the long run, as has been the case for decades now.

O also benefits from being one of the few net lease REITs with an A-rated balance sheet, which is paramount to its low cost of capital and strong investment spreads. The 5.6% yield is also well-covered and should have room to keep growing.

Best of all, the stock is trading at a forward 12-month P/AFFO ratio of approximately 13 from the current $58 share price. That's leagues below the 10-year average P/E ratio of 18.3 per FAST Graphs and my $71 fair value estimate.

Dividend Stock #3: UnitedHealth Group (UNH)

Last but not least is UnitedHealth Group. I have purchased this twice so far this year. UNH is a smaller position in my portfolio at a 1.4% weight, so I have some room to bring this up to a 2% weight.

To be clear, the stock has had its share of headwinds in 2025. Medicare Advantage cost pressures. The earnings guidance cut in April and then a withdraw of 2025 guidance entirely. Not to mention the resignation of CEO Andrew Witty and the return of former CEO Stephen Helmsley.

Despite all these challenges, I remain a believer in the long-term future of this company. I'm convinced that UNH can return to its targeted 13% to 16% annual adjusted diluted EPS growth rate beyond 2025.

The balance sheet remains A-rated. The 2.8% dividend yield is quite secure and gives UNH a path to return to very robust dividend growth. 

From the current $309 share price, the stock is trading at a forward 12-month P/E ratio below 13. This is significantly below the 10-year average P/E ratio of 20.3 per FAST Graphs and my fair value estimate of $440 a share.

Concluding Thoughts:

There you have it. GOOGL, O, and UNH are three phenomenal businesses. Coincidentally, this is the same trio that was featured in my March 2025 Stock Watch List blog post. I plan on allocating nearly 40% of my capital to GOOGL, with the remainder being about evenly split between O and UNH.

Discussion:

Are any of GOOGL, O, or UNH on your watch list for next month?

If not, what stocks are on your radar for August 2025?

Thanks for reading. I look forward to your comments below!

June 2025 Dividend Income

As I'm writing this blog post, it's currently Friday, June 27th. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin is set to reach a high of 79 degrees Fahrenheit later today with a sunny forecast. After many days of hot/humid and cloudy days, this is a welcome development.

Now that the month is just about complete, I will be briefly highlighting my net dividend income for June 2025.

Net Dividends Topped $600

In June 2025, I collected $615.38 in net dividends (including ADR fees for BAM in my taxable account). Against the $583.10 in net dividends that I received in March 2025, this equates to a quarterly growth rate of 5.5%.

Compared to the $520.75 in net dividends collected in June 2024, this works out to a year-over-year dividend growth rate of 18.2%.

In my Charles Schwab account, I received $364.67 in net dividends from 39 companies.

I collected $136.65 in net dividends from 14 companies in my Fidelity IRA portfolio.

In my other retirement account, I received $94.58 in net dividends from my Capital Income Builder mutual fund.

Finally, I collected $19.48 in net dividends from seven companies within my Webull account.

Concluding Thoughts:

I'm pleased that my portfolio's income is continuing to compound at a solidly double-digit annualized rate. By God's grace and the genius of American capitalism, I hope to continue on this progress.

Discussion:

How was your dividend income for June 2025?

Did you receive any first-time dividends during the month?

I appreciate your readership and please feel free to comment below!

June 2025 Stock Purchases/Sales

As I'm writing this blog post, it's Friday, June 20th. The high temperature here in Central Wisconsin is set to reach 82 degrees Fahrenheit. The forecast is also for partly sunny weather. This is ideal weather to be outside, so I plan to get out there later today!

Now that the month is just about over, I'm likely done with capital deployment for June 2025. Without further ado, I'll jump into my purchases and sales for the month.

Stock Purchase #1: Energy Transfer (ET)

My first purchase during the month was 24 units of Energy Transfer at an average cost of $17.53 a unit. Interested readers can find my investment thesis in my June 2025 Stock Watch List blog post. Against the $31.44 in net annual forward distributions that this purchase added, that equates to a 7.48% net forward yield.

Stock Purchase #2: Alphabet (GOOGL)

The next purchase that I made in June 2025 was seven shares of Alphabet at an average price per share of $168.89. Curious readers can peruse my investment thesis in my June 2025 Stock Watch List blog post. Given the $5.88 in net annual forward dividends added from this transaction, that works out to a 0.50% net dividend yield.

Stock Purchase #3: Merck (MRK)

My third purchase that I made during the month was eight shares of Merck at an average cost of $75.98 a share. Again, readers can check out my investment thesis in my June 2025 Stock Watch List blog post. This purchase added $25.92 to my net annual forward dividends, which is equivalent to a 4.26% net dividend yield.

Bonus Stock Purchase #1: UnitedHealth Group (UNH)

I also purchased two shares of UnitedHealth Group at an average price per share of $312.32. The purchase added $16.80 to my net annual forward dividends. Compared to the $16.80 in net annual forward dividends that this purchase added, that equates to a 2.69% net dividend yield.

Bonus Stock Purchase #2: Brookfield Asset Management (BAM)

I also added one share of Brookfield Asset Management at a cost of $54.89 a share. This increased my net annual forward dividends by $1.75, which works out to a 3.19% net dividend yield. Interested readers can check out this recent Seeking Alpha article co-produced with Brad Thomas for my investment thesis.

Stock Sales: Clorox (CLX) and General Mills (GIS)

I closed out my two share position in Clorox for an average price per share of $127.84 and my four share position in General Mills for $55.06 a share. These sales were done with the intent of further consolidating my holdings. As a result, my net annual forward dividends fell by $19.36.

Stock Purchase: PepsiCo (PEP)

I used the proceeds from my aforementioned sales and another $52.04 in capital to purchase four shares of PepsiCo at an average cost of $131.99 a share. My net annual forward dividends grew by $22.76 from this purchase.

Concluding Thoughts:

Not counting the dividend reinvestment in my Capital Income Builder mutual fund, I deployed $2,942.24 in fresh capital in June 2025. The fresh capital and capital redeployment added $85.19 in net annual forward dividends, which is equivalent to a 2.90% net dividend yield.

My net annual forward dividends increased by $5.474 from dividend increases during the month as well. Dividend adjustments to my ADR holdings also raised my net annual forward dividends by $7.173. These factors led my net annual forward dividends to jump from almost $5,935 at the start of the month to nearly $6,035 heading into July.

Discussion:

How was your capital deployment for June 2025?

Did you start any new positions this month?

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment below!

Expected Dividend Increases For July 2025

As I'm writing this blog post, it's currently Friday, June 13th. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin is predicted to reach a high of just 58 degrees Fahrenheit today (with rain in the forecast). That's well below the average for this time of the year. The good news is that high temperatures are expected to climb into the low to mid-70 degrees range for tomorrow and Sunday. It would still be below the average for this time of year, but that's ideal weather, especially with a partly sunny forecast.

With that out of the way, I thought now would be a good time to go over the dividend raises that I received in June. I'll also look ahead to the dividend increases that I'm predicting for July 2025.

Actual Dividend Increases For June 2025

Dividend Increase #1: UnitedHealth Group (UNH)

UNH upped its quarterly dividend per share by 5.2% to $2.21. This missed my expectations of a 7.1% increase to $2.25. All things considered, I'll take this raise. As I believe new (and past) CEO Stephen Hemsley works to right the ship and near-term headwinds eventually fade, I believe dividend growth can return to the low-double-digits.

In the meantime, this dividend announcement increased my net annual forward dividends by $3.52 across my eight shares of UNH.

Dividend Increase #2: FedEx (FDX)

FedEx declared a 5.1% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.45. This was slightly below the 7.2% raise to $1.48 that I was expecting.

My net annual forward dividends grew by $1.12 across my four shares of FDX due to this dividend declaration.

Dividend Increase #3: Realty Income (O)

As expected, Realty Income announced a 0.2% increase in its monthly dividend per share to $0.2690.

Across my 139 shares of O, my net annual forward dividends increased by $0.834 from this dividend announcement.

Expected Dividend Increases For July 2025

Expected Dividend Increase #1: Cummins (CMI)

The first dividend raise that I'm expecting for next month will come from Cummins. My hunch is that CMI will declare a 7.1% boost in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.95.

My net annual forward dividends would rise by $2.60 across my five shares of CMI due to such a dividend declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #2: Duke Energy (DUK)

The next dividend increase that I'm predicting for July 2025 will be from Duke Energy. I believe that DUK will announce a 4.3% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.09.

Across my six shares of DUK, my net annual forward dividends would grow by $1.08 from such a dividend announcement.

Expected Distribution Increase #3: Enterprise Products Partners (EPD)

The third distribution bump that I'm forecasting for next month will come from Enterprise Products Partners. My best guess is that EPD will declare a 1.9% increase in its quarterly distribution per unit to $0.545.

My net annual forward distributions would be boosted by $10 across my 250 units of EPD due to such a distribution declaration.

Expected Distribution Increase #4: Energy Transfer (ET)

The next distribution raise that I'm expecting for July 2025 will be from Energy Transfer. My hunch is that ET will announce a 0.8% increase in its quarterly distribution per unit to $0.33.

Across my 207 units, my net annual forward distributions would be lifted by $2.07 from such a distribution announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #5: NNN REIT (NNN)

The fifth dividend increase that I'm predicting for next month will come from NNN REIT. I believe that NNN will declare a 2.6% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.595.

My net annual forward dividends would edge $1.08 higher across my 18 shares of NNN due to such a dividend declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #6: J.M. Smucker (SJM)

The next dividend raise that I'm forecasting for July 2025 will be from J.M. Smucker. My best guess is that SJM will announce a 1.9% bump in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.10.

Across my three shares of SJM, my net annual forward dividends would increase by $0.24 from such a dividend announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #7: Wells Fargo (WFC)

The seventh and final dividend boost that I'm expecting for next month will come from Wells Fargo. My hunch is that WFC will declare a 12.5% lift in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.45.

Across my eight shares of WFC, my net annual forward dividends would grow by $1.60 due to such a dividend declaration.

Concluding Thoughts:

My net annual forward dividends grew by $5.474 from three dividend raises in June 2025. This is equivalent to investing $182.47 at a 3% net dividend yield.

If the seven dividend raises that I'm expecting for July 2025 materialize, my net annual forward dividends would rise by $18.43. That would be like investing $622.33 at a 3% dividend yield.

Discussion:

How's your month going for dividend raises thus far?

Did you benefit from any first-time dividend hikes in your portfolio this month?

Thank you for your readership. I look forward to your comments below!