Wow, what a week it was!
Isn’t this one of those weeks that many value investors have been waiting for? I definitely did. The only thing that I really need now is coffee ☕ to process all the information that is coming my way.
Anyway, it does mean that I had more than enough again to think about and therefore I hope that you enjoy this week’s 5 bullets.
Happy Sunday!
#CoronaVirus #PanDemic #MarketFear #DividendHikes #EuropeanStocks #WarrenBuffett #MasterClass #LeapDay #WatchList #Focus
5-Bullet Sunday is a weekly blog post with 5 topics that were on my mind this week related to Financial Independence and Dividend Growth Investing or something that just fed my curiosity. An overview of other earlier posts can be found here
🌟 Coronavirus hitting the stock market
The #coronavirus really started to hit the stock market hard. It makes sense though, because it has started to spread now to almost every European country and this creates fear. If you want to understand what fear looks like, then please have a look at the below video first.
Can you feel that energy in their conversation?
For me this means that I am really starting to use my strategy of slowly bringing cash from my war chest 🧰 into the market. Some stocks have declined already more than 20% since x-mas, i.e. Disney. More about that later 👌
🌟 Noteworthy European dividend announcements
Bayer AG ($ETR:BAYN) left its dividend unchanged with 2.80 EUR per share. This means a 4.28% yield at the current share price. At the same time they announced that the CEO is stepping down. Let’s hope that the new CEO gets to a RoundUp settlement quickly so that it provides clarity to us as investors.
British American Tobacco ($LON:BATS) announced a dividend of 210.4p. This is an increase of 3.6% and, if my information is correct, spots the 19th consecutive dividend increase. At the current share price, it means a dividend yield of 6.87%.
Munich RE ($ETR:MUV2) announced a dividend of 9.80 EUR per share. This is an increase of 5.9% and the company did not cut its dividend since 1970 (a whopping 50 years! 💪). The last time the dividend was unchanged was between 2007 and 2008. A great company that raises its dividend like clockwork and it currently yields 4.23%.
Danone SA ($EPA:BN) announced a dividend of 2.10 EUR per share. This is an increase of 8% and Danone hasn’t cut its dividend since 1986. It did froze it dividend briefly though in 1996, 2009 and 2013. The stock currently yields 3.3%.
I will write a bit of a longer post in the upcoming weeks which will include many other European Dividend increases, so stay tuned.
🌟 Warren Buffett’s words of wisdom
The other day I shared a video from Charlie Munger, this time I would like to share Warren Buffett’s yearly interview with Becky Quick on CNBC. Like always, it’s not an interview, it’s a master class!
It takes two hours to watch, so better seek permission with your partner first or even better, just plan to watch it together. The weather isn’t that good anyway over here in Poland 😉
🌟 Leap day
This year we have a Leap Day (29 Feb), which effectively means that we got one additional day this year to invest into the stock market. Isn’t that great?
Julius Cesar introduced Leap Day, because they noticed that it takes planet earth a little bit more than 365 days to orbit the sun. It got later refined with the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar as there was a slight miscalculation.
Did you also know that the following special events happened on Leap Day during our history?
- In 1880 the Gotthard tunnel between Switzerland & Italy was opened. Many of us know this tunnel from going on vacation 🌴
- In 1940 Actress Hattie McDaniel won an academy award being the first African American.
- In 1960 the 1st Playboy Club opens in Chicago. Bunnies everywhere! 🐰
- Bayern Munich won from 1899 Hoffenheim and Zirkzee impressed with his play while replacing Robert Lewandowski. He also scored a goal in the 15th minute 🥅
🌟 Preparing my watchlist
I have been spending a lot of time this weekend to go through my current portfolio and to analyze the stocks that are part of my allocation strategy.
The market is really becoming interesting now, because I am getting more cash flow for retirement for the same amount invested. This literally allows me to quicker reach my goals!
I will publish a post either still today or tomorrow with the 5 stocks on my watchlist for March. I could easily discuss 10 or more stocks, but it would just distract me and I need focus in these circumstances. It feels like I am becoming a child again who doesn’t know what to chose in a candy store 🍬.
This was it for the week and I hope that you enjoyed this week’s 5-Bullet Sunday. Don’t be scared about the stock market. Do your homework, stay cool and if you are like me, enjoy investing for income.
If you are interested, Sign-up to my mailing list and receive a link to view my full portfolio (cash numbers 💪)!
For now, have a great Sunday!
Yours Truly,
— European Dividend Growth Investor
Disclaimer
I’m not a certified financial planner/advisor nor a certified financial analyst nor an economist nor a CPA nor an accountant nor a lawyer. I’m not a finance professional through formal education. I’m a person who believes and takes pride in a sense of freedom, satisfaction, fulfillment and empowerment that I get from being financially competent and being conscious managing my personal money. The contents on this blog are for informational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial, accounting, or legal advice. I can’t promise that the information shared on my blog is appropriate for you or anyone else. By reading this blog, you agree to hold me harmless from any ramifications, financial or otherwise, that occur to you as a result of acting on information provided on this blog.
