Moving Beyond A Dividend King.


Presented By: The Intellectual Investor

Well, we finally did it.

We quit Altria Group (MO) this week when we sold our remaining 100 shares at $44.47 thanks to a covered call that exercised.

That dropped our P.A.D.I. (Projected Annual Dividend Income) by $392.

Ouch.

Altria is a dividend king and has increased its annual dividend for 54 years.

But there's a method to this madness that starts with declining U.S. cigarette sales.

Cigarette sales have dropped over 50% since 2000 and 70% since the early 1980’s.

Smokable tobacco products like Marlboro and Black & Mild make up about 90% of Altria’s net revenue.

But the company is "Moving Beyond Smoking."

Altria says its vision is to "responsibly lead the transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future."

It's wild that their business is built upon a product with declining demand, and they're shifting away from it.

And it's starting to show.

10Y Total Sales are up 15%, while their shares outstanding have been reduced by 11%.

But Altria's 10Y EPS (Earnings Per Share) is up 91%!

Alex, I'll take Financial Engineers for $400, please.

This is a sign of a well-managed business, but even an all-star management team can only do so much if sales keep declining.

Another concern of mine is the total return.

Altria underperforms the S&P500 index the more recently we start the clock ticking and only outperforms the past twenty and thirty years.

This could be because we've seen the dot-com crash and the great financial crisis over the last thirty years, keeping those total returns lower.

Oh, and maybe most importantly, my wife and I have lost multiple people to tobacco use.

So, it's a personal choice to no longer individually invest in a business that harms the end user.

Any way you slice or smoke it, losing that fat and juicy dividend stinks.

But we want to be smarter, higher-quality investors and avoid investments just for a significant yield, even though Altria is built to pay one.

Stay tuned to this newsletter to find out where we start redeploying the Altria funds.

Are there any specific stocks or sectors that you invest in?

Hit reply and let me know!

😁THANK YOU to the (12) people who responded to the last newsletter!!

Check out the portfolios and podcasts, or see what’s cooking on YouTube.

That said, let’s get to this week's portfolio activity.


Dividends Received ~$209.70

  • AbbVie (ABBV) | $55.80
  • Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) | $51.50
  • Realty Income (O) | $51.40
  • Main St. Capital (MAIN) | $36.00
  • Agree Realty (ADC) | $15.00

Dividends Received Year to Date~

$2,779.79


Stocks Sold (AVERAGE)

  • (100) Altria Group (MO) | $44.47

Stocks Bought (AVERAGE)

  • 8 Starbucks (SBUX) | $75.53
  • 2 agree realty (ADC) | $60.33
  • 1 VICI Properties (VICI) | $30.25
  • 4 Harrow Inc. (HROW) | $14.49

Notable Ex-Dividends This Week + SSD Score

  • 5/21 Aflac (AFL), 2.26% | 99VS
  • 5/22 Discover Financial (DFS), 2.23% | 45BS
  • 5/24 Northrop Grumman (NOC), 1.75% | 90VS
  • 5/24 Tractor Supply (TSCO), 1.54% | 68S
  • 5/24 YUM Brands (YUM), 1.89% | 50BS

🗣️Quote of the week🗣️

"The key to moving the needle is inactivity. You've got to be very patient and very inactive."

-Monish Pabrai on the My First Million podcast.


🎦If you missed it, we reveal Warren Buffett's latest mystery stock buy.

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🤑Rick Stambaugh from Orange Mountain Financial brings you ‘Grow Retirement Income.' He’s a seasoned pro with over 30 years in trading and a passion for guiding folks to a prosperous retirement.


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Random music video I enjoy and you might too!

🎵The Interrupters - Easy on You🎵

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That said, have a WONDERFUL week, and I'll see you in the next one.


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Dapper Dividends

Each week you'll learn how to be a better dividend investor and follow the journey of a welder with a passion for passive income to $1,000,000 and beyond.

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