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No one at Get Irked is a professional financial adviser. All information provided on this website is for entertainment and educational purposes only. All investments involve risk, all equities could lose value, and investors are responsible for their own choices. Consult with your own financial adviser to see if any of these positions and strategies fit your risk profile and long-term financial goals.

Pandemic Portfolio: Update #4

This is an update to a series. See Starting a Portfolio from Scratch to learn how it started.

Summary

With the markets in the midst of their biggest selloff since, well, June, it’s time to peek at levels to see whether any of my positions are reaching interesting prices. 

In fact, Pepsico (PEP) dropped more than many analysts felt like it should so I picked up some shares. There were a few dividend payouts since the last issue, too. I also revisit all of my position’s strategies with new and updated price targets based off how far they dropped.

Read on!

Portfolio Status

 

Overall Portfolio
Performance

+0.898%

Change since Last Update:  -0.622%
Holdings: 14.97% | Cash: 85.03%

Costco (COST)

+12.88%

1st Buy 5/12/2020 @ $306.88
Current Per-Share: $303.50

Crown Castle (CCI)

-2.13%

1st Buy 7/21/2020 @ $167.24
Current Per-Share: $165.23

Digital Realty (DLR)

+3.43%

1st Buy 5/12/2020 @ $143.35
Current Per-Share: $137.31

Microsoft (MSFT)

+16.48%

1st Buy 5/12/2020 @ $180.74
Current Per-Share: $178.41

Pepsico (PEP)

+2.63%

1st Buy 5/13/2020 @ $132.97
Current Per-Share: $130.12

UnitedHealth (UNH)

+8.02%

1st Buy 6/12/2020 @ $282.41 
Current Per-Share: $280.03

Portfolio Breakdown

 

Positions

%

Target Position Size

Get Irked's Pandemic Portfolio Holdings as of September 25, 2020

Click image for an enlarged version.

Moves Since Last Update

 

Costco (COST): Dividend Reinvestment

Current Price: $342.58
Per-Share Cost
: $303.50 (-0.20% from last update)
Profit/Loss: +12.88%
 
Allocation: 3.402%*
Next Buy Target: $303.50

Given Costco (COST) constant strength in virtually any downturn, I’ve increased my price target to add more shares if it simply pulls back to my existing per-share cost at $303.50. This one doesn’t come down much and doesn’t come down often so if it pulls back to my cost, I’m stocking up.

Crown Castle (CCI): Strategy Update

Current Price: $161.71
Per-Share Cost
: $165.23 (unchanged from last update)
Profit/Loss:
 -2.13%
Allocation: 3.205%*
Next Buy Target: $155.70

Crown Castle (CCI) demonstrated a lot more resilience during the tech selloff this week. Given the tendency of many investors to “buy-the-dip” when the market sells off lately, I’ve lowered the quantity of my next buy but raised the price target higher than CCI dropped.

If Crown Castle tries to test its recent lows, I’ll pick some up as its dividend yield is right at the 3% mark. If CCI heads lower, I have a plan for that, too.

Digital Realty Trust (DLR): Strategy Update

Current Price: $142.02
Per-Share Cost
: $137.31 (unchanged from last update)
Profit/Loss:
 +3.43%
Allocation: 2.128%*
Next Buy Target: $136.90

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) has really taken it on the chin since hitting its $165.49 all-time high back in August. In less than two months, DLR has lost nearly 15% of its value.

Currently, the stock is flirting with its 200-day Moving Average (MA) right around $138.00. If DLR drops below and tests my per-share cost, I’ll add some more of this 3%+ dividend-yielding cloud-computing play.

Microsoft (MSFT): Dividend Reinvestment

Current Price: $207.82
Per-Share Cost
: $178.41 (-0.25% from last update)
Profit/Loss:
 +16.48%
Allocation: 2.068%*
Next Buy Target: $197.90

Microsoft (MSFT) paid out its quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share on Friday, September 11, 2020, an annual yield of 1.00% at its $204.03 closing price; not a spectacular yield compared to some positions, but given the high-flying growth nature of this stock, any dividend is welcome.

The dividend lowered the per-share cost of my position by -0.25% from $178.85 to $178.41. I have all eligible positions in all of my portfolios set to automatically reinvest dividends in Dividend Reinvestment Programs (DRiPs) as shares of the position rather than receive dividends as cash payouts. 

Dividends are the stock market’s closest thing to a “free lunch” since investors simply need to do nothing – hold the shares through the dividend payout date (Div-Ex) and you’re golden.

Microsoft has demonstrated some serious strength standing up to the sellers recently which has resulted in me planning to do that which I absolutely hate doing – adding to the position above my per-share cost.

Yes, my next buy target is above the low Microsoft made in the last selloff at $197.90 and will raise my per-share cost rather than lower it. While I hate raising my per-share cost, the long-term prospects of MSFT are simply too good and it’s possible the support it found at these levels will be a jumping-off point for the stock to try for new all-time highs in the coming months.

Pepsico (PEP): Added to Position

Current Price: $133.55
Per-Share Cost
: $130.12 (-$0.04 from last update)
Profit/Loss:
 +2.63%
Allocation: 2.657%* (+0.579% from last update)
Next Buy Target: $128.90

Pepsico (PEP) pulled back nearly a total of -10% from its $144.04 high made earlier in September over the past few weeks. When PEP started reaching my per-share cost and found support slightly below $130, I decided to raise my buy target to add a little more at my price point.

The order filled late in the trading day on Wednesday at $130.02. Although the buy only reduced my per-share cost by -$0.04, it increased my allocation in this excellent recession-proof dividend-yielder. 

Knowing how it’s rare for great consumer-goods stocks to sell off like this and seeing how PEP bounced off its lows during the selloff, I plan to add some more if Pepsico pulls back to $128.90

PEP closed the week at $133.55, up +2.71% from where I added Wednesday.

UnitedHealth (UNH): Dividend Reinvestment

Current Price: $302.50
Per-Share Cost
: $280.03 (-0.43% from last update)
Profit/Loss:
 +8.02%
Allocation: 1.512%*
Next Buy Target: $276.20

UnitedHealth (UNH) paid out its quarterly dividend of $1.25 per share on September 23, 2020, an annual yield of 1.70% at its closing price of $294.61.

While UNH’s dividend isn’t huge, this small amount did serve to lower my per-share cost -0.43% from $281.23 to $280.03 when the DRiP reinvested the payout into my position.

Despite UnitedHealth demonstrating strength making new all-time highs recently, it is a presidential election year and healthcare is always in front of the firing squad during presidential debates. Given that and UNH’s historical tendency for huge swings in volatility, my next buy target to add to my position is below my per-share cost at $276.20, more than -8.5% lower than these levels.

* Target allocation for each position in the portfolio is 16.67% of the overall portfolio.

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Disclaimer: Eric "Irk" Jacobson and all other Get Irked contributors are not investment or financial advisers. All strategies, trading ideas, and other information presented comes from non-professional, amateur investors and traders sharing techniques and ideas for general information purposes.

As always, all individuals should consult their financial advisers to determine if an investing idea is right for them. All investing comes with levels of risk with some ideas and strategies carrying more risk than others.

As an individual investor, you are accountable for assessing all risk to determine if the strategy or idea fits with your investment style. All information on Get Irked is presented for educational and informational purposes only.