August 2025 Dividend Stock Purchases/Sales

As I'm writing this blog post, it's currently Friday, August 22nd. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin is expected to reach a high of 79 degrees Fahrenheit. It's also expected to be partly sunny, so I'm definitely looking to get outside later today.

Since I'm probably done deploying capital for the month, I'm going to highlight my dividend stock purchases and sales for August 2025. Without further ado, let's jump into it.

Dividend Stock #1: Alphabet (GOOGL)

My first purchase in August 2025 was another five shares of Alphabet at an average cost of $188.86 a share. Interested readers can find the gist of my investment thesis in my August 2025 Dividend Stock Watch List blog post. This transaction added $4.20 to my portfolio's net annual forward dividends, which is equivalent to a 0.44% net dividend yield.

Dividend Stock #2: Realty Income (O)

The next purchase that I made during the month was 14 more shares of Realty Income at an average price per share of $56.39. Curious readers can find my investment thesis in the August 2025 Dividend Stock Watch List blog post that I linked above. My net annual forward dividends climbed by $45.192, which equates to a 5.72% net yield.

Dividend Stock #3: UnitedHealth Group (UNH)

My third purchase in August 2025 was another two shares of UnitedHealth Group at an average cost of $236.18 a share. Readers can find my investment thesis in the blog post that I linked earlier. My net annual forward dividends grew by $17.68 from this transaction, which works out to be a 3.74% net dividend yield.

Dividend Stock Sale: Amgen (AMGN), Abbott Laboratories (ABT), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

I closed a six share position in Amgen at an average price per share of $286.54. To be clear, I believe the stock can deliver high-single-digit annual total returns over the next several years. It's arguably a bit discounted, the dividend is well-covered, and mid-single-digit annual non-GAAP EPS growth is fairly realistic. For me, this was about opportunity cost. This move reduced my net annual forward dividends by $57.12.

I also exited a six share position in Abbott Laboratories at an average price of $130.51 and a five share position in Johnson & Johnson at an average price per share of $177.35. ABT and JNJ are both qualitative companies to be sure. However, I believe with their stocks near fair value and their growth prospects, high single digit annual total returns over the next several years is likely. These sales lowered my net annual forward dividends by $40.16.

Dividend Stock Purchases: Novo Nordisk (NVO)

I used the proceeds from my Amgen sale to buy 38 shares of Novo Nordisk at an average cost of $45.59 a share. Overall, I like NVO's AA credit rating from S&P. I'm also a firm believer in the company's existing drug portfolio and drug pipeline. This is why I'm confident that the stock can grow earnings at a high-single-digit to low-double-digit annual rate annually for the foreseeable future. The stock's forward 12-month P/E ratio of approximately 11 was less than half of its 10-year average P/E ratio of 27. Overall, I believe that could set NVO up for 20%+ annual total return potential from this cost basis over the next five years. This transaction added $57.11 to my portfolio's net annual forward dividends.

I also redeployed my proceeds from the ABT and JNJ sales to purchase another 30 shares of NVO at $55.13 per share. I think that high teens annual total return potential from the cost basis on this tranche is a realistic expectation through 2030. This added $45.09 to my net annual forward dividends.

Concluding Thoughts:

In August 2025, I invested $2,206.07 in fresh capital. These purchases added $67.072 to my net annual forward dividends. That's equivalent to a 3.04% net dividend yield. Capital redeployment lifted my net annual forward dividends by another $4.93 during the month.

The dividend raise announced in August 2025 increased my net annual forward dividends by $3.84. This led my net annual forward dividends to grow from around $6,160 at the start of August to $6,235 heading into September.

Discussion:

How was your capital deployment in August 2025?

Did you open any new positions like I did with NVO? Did you close any positions like I did with AMGN, ABT, and JNJ?

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

Expected Dividend Increases for September 2025

As I'm writing this blog post, it's Friday, August 15th. The temperature is set to reach a high of 86 degrees Fahrenheit today here in Central Wisconsin. However, thunderstorms are expected throughout the day. Thus, I won't be getting outside much, if at all today.

Now that August is about half over, I figure it would be a good time to look at the one dividend raise that I'm expecting for this month. I will also preview the dividend boosts that I'm anticipating for September 2025. Let's dive into it!

Actual Dividend Increase for August 2025

Pending Dividend Increase: Altria Group (MO)

Altria Group has yet to up its quarterly dividend per share. However, it will be announcing this on August 21st. I continue to believe that MO will announce a 3.9% bump in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.06.

My net annual forward dividends would grow by $3.84 across my 24 shares of MO from such an announcement.

UPDATE: As expected, MO raised its quarterly dividend per share by 3.9% to $1.06. Across my 24 shares, my net annual forward dividends rose by $3.84.

Expected Dividend Increases for September 2025

Expected Dividend Increase #1: McDonald's (MCD)

The first raise that I'm anticipating for next month will be from McDonald's. I believe that MCD will declare a 5.6% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.87.

Across my five shares of MCD, my net annual forward dividends would rise by $2 due to such a dividend declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #2: Microsoft (MSFT)

The next dividend boost that I'm expecting for September 2025 will come from Microsoft. My best guess is that MSFT will announce a 10.8% hike in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.92.

My net annual forward dividends would jump by $3.96 across my 11 shares of MSFT from such a dividend announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #3: Realty Income (O)

The third dividend bump that I'm predicting for next month will be from Realty Income. I believe that O will declare a 0.2% increase in the monthly dividend per share to $0.2695.

Across my 153 shares of O, my net annual forward dividends would grow by $0.918 due to such a dividend declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #4: Philip Morris International (PM)

The next dividend raise that I'm anticipating for September 2025 will come from Philip Morris International. My best guess is that PM will announce a 4.5% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $1.42.

My net annual forward dividends would climb by $3.92 across my 14 shares of PM from such a dividend announcement.

Expected Dividend Increase #5: VICI Properties (VICI)

The fifth payout increase that I'm expecting for next month will be from VICI Properties. I believe that VICI will declare a 4% raise in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.45.

Across my 106 shares of VICI, my net annual forward dividends would surge by $7.42 due to such a dividend declaration.

Expected Dividend Increase #6: Verizon Communications (VZ)

The final dividend bump that I'm predicting for September 2025 will come from Verizon Communications. My best guess is that VZ will announce a 1.8% increase in its quarterly dividend per share to $0.69.

My net annual forward dividends would edge $1.35 higher across my 45 shares of VZ from such a dividend announcement.

Concluding Thoughts:

My net annual forward dividends grew by $3.84 in August 2025. This would be like investing $128 at a 3% net dividend yield.

If my six raises for September play out as expected, my net annual forward dividends would rise by $19.568. That would be equivalent to investing $652.27 at a 3% yield.

Discussion:

How has your August been for dividend raises thus far? Are any still outstanding?

Did you receive any first-time dividend hikes this month?

Thank you for your readership and please feel free to comment below!

A Major Portfolio Milestone

As I'm writing this blog post on Friday, August 8th. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin is set to reach a high of 77 degrees Fahrenheit later. Not surprisingly, I plan on spending some time outside today.

Honing in on today's focus, my investments surpassed $200,000 last month. I'll briefly highlight the time that it took me to go from $100,000 in investments to $200,000. As I'll get into in a bit, I believe this demonstrates how much compounding starts to kick in after sticking with the dividend growth investing strategy for a while.

The Snowball Is Starting To Roll Down The Hill

Just like I noted in an August 2022 blog post, Charlie Munger couldn't have been more right with the following quote: "The first $100,000 is a b*tch, but you gotta do it."

That's because the vast majority of this amount is generated strictly from savings. Consider that I reached $100,000 in investments in March 2023 (this differs from my net worth milestone due to some liquid savings and my car that I own free and clear). That means starting from zero, it took about five and a half years to reach $100,000 in investments.

Reaching $200,000 in investments in late July 2025, it took a bit less than two and a half years.

Granted, the former did include a period in which I paid for my final two years of undergrad and saved up for my car. Plus, my earnings were lower over this period as I wasn't too established in my career. So, it's not a purely apples-to-apples comparison.

Still, it shows just how much compounding is beginning to work.

Concluding Thoughts:

What's really neat is that it was decades ago when Munger pointed this out in the quote above. Adjusting for inflation, I'm right around the point at which he says one can ease off the gas a little bit. I'm very grateful to be at this point in my life and hope to reach the next incremental $100,000 milestone in 2027.

Discussion:

Have you reached $200,000 in investments?

If so, when did you attain it? If not, do you have a timeline on when you expect to do so?

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

September 2025 Stock Watch List

As I'm writing this blog post, it's Saturday, August 2nd. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin is set to reach a high of 80 degrees Fahrenheit later today. Along with a sunny forecast, this is arguably perfect weather. Thus, I definitely plan on spending time outside today!

Now that I have completed the purchases that I highlighted in my August 2025 Stock Watch List blog post, I likely won't be committing any further fresh capital for the month. I may shuffle the portfolio around a bit with a minor capital reallocation. Anyway, with that being said, I'm going to be looking ahead to the stocks on my watch list for September 2025.

Stock #1: Amazon (AMZN)

Once again, Amazon is on my watch list for next month. I've added to my position seven times so far this year. Curious readers can find my investment thesis in my July 2025 Stock Watch List blog post.

The gist of my bullishness continues to rest on AMZN's strong positions in thriving industries like cloud computing, e-commerce, and digital advertising. The company beat analysts' expectations in Q2. Given capacity restraints and the sheer size of its cloud computing business, I thought the AWS results were solid. The advertising business posted solid results as well.

The midpoint of AMZN's Q3 operating income guidance came in below the consensus from analysts. However, the company does have a tendency to be conservative with guidance ($19.2 billion in Q2 was $1.7 billion above the top end of its guidance). That's why I'm not too worried about the lower-than-expected guidance.

AMZN's balance sheet remains an AA-rated fortress. At the current $215 share price (as of August 2nd, 2025),  the stock is also priced at a forward 12-month P/OCF ratio of 14.5. According to FAST Graphs, that's below the 10-year average P/OCF ratio of 23.8. Given the 19% annual OCF/share growth consensus through 2030, I believe a P/OCF ratio of 21 (a $310 fair value per share estimate) is reasonable. 

Overall, a 31% discount to my fair value estimate for one of the best businesses on the planet is what gives me such conviction to keep buying more AMZN.

Stock #2: ONEOK (OKE)

Next up on my watch list for September 2025 is ONEOK. Interested readers can peruse my investment thesis in my June Seeking Alpha article.

The takeaway is that OKE has a handful of projects that have been finished recently to drive near-term growth (the West Texas NGL Pipeline and Elk Creek NGL Pipeline expansions). Other longer term projects remain in progress and OKE also expects to fully realize hundreds of millions of dollars of annual synergies over the next few years from recent acquisitions.

OKE's balance sheet is investment-grade, too (BBB on a stable outlook from S&P). Shares are trading at a forward 12-month P/OCF ratio of 7.5 at the current $79 share price. For more context, that's below the 10-year average P/OCF ratio of 9.7 and my fair value estimate of 8.7 ($92 fair value per share estimate).

Stock #3: Union Pacific (UNP)

The third and final focus of my watch list for next month is Union Pacific. Readers can check out my investment thesis in my July 2025 Stock Watch List blog post linked above. Otherwise, my full analysis can be found in my June Seeking Alpha article.

Basically, railroads are some of my favorite long-term investments. That's because of the fact that they'll always be needed. As the economy grows and UNP becomes more efficient, this should drive solid diluted EPS growth over time. The company's potential merger with Norfolk Southern to form the country's first transcontinental railroad could come with additional growth opportunities and the potential for sizable synergies, too.

UNP's A-rated balance sheet is another plus. What's more, the stock is trading at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 17.6 from the current $219 share price. This is below the 10-year average P/E ratio of 21.2, which is also my fair value P/E ratio ($264 fair value per share estimate).

Concluding Thoughts:

There we have it. In my view, AMZN, OKE, and UNP are three phenomenal businesses. As was the case in my July stock watch list, I'm leaning toward an approximately 40% weighting to AMZN. The remaining 60% of funds will be allocated pretty evenly between OKE and UNP.

Discussion:

Are any of AMZN, OKE, or UNP on your radar for September 2025?

If not, what stocks are you watching for next month?

I appreciate your readership and welcome your comments below!