Goddammit Mark, for a dude who says he hates selling, you are doing a lot of it this year! I don’t like it, but for whatever reason, I’m increasingly dissatisfied with parts of my portfolio. And sometimes I have to admit I was wrong with a given purchase, and do something about it as soon as I can.
My Sales
- 43.525 shares of Baxter International (BAX) @ $36.64 (-$89.29 in annual income)
- 42 shares of Baxalta Inc (BXLT) @ $31.66 (-$0.00 annual income)
- 6 shares of Halyard Health (HYH) @ $39.42 ($0.00 annual income)
Why? It is kind of weird, since I used to be so gung-ho for spinoffs. That’s why I bought Kimberly-Clark so long ago, so I could get a piece of HYH. But you know, times change. I’ve gotten a bit more experienced, and at this point, I feel the disruption to income is not worth the benefits of potential capital appreciation. Here’s a really compelling case as to why the combined income may actually spell a dividend cut. The fundamentals will be in flux for a while, and I don’t want to take any more risks than I have to.
And further, I’m starting to view spinoffs through the lens of “would I have bought it if it wasn’t spun off to me?” The answer is usually “No”, like I saw in my sale of BHP Billiton and South32. Guess that is part of my maturing as an investor: I learn what I will or will not put up with. I feel kind of stupid that I bothered to buy these companies to begin with, but in fairness, I bought most of them before having a clear strategy to begin with. Live and learn; it’s better to make mistakes now, when I have 40+ years to correct them, y’know?
And in HYH’s case, it doesn’t pay a dividend, and won’t for the foreseeable future: “We have no present intention to pay dividends on Halyard common stock.” See the 10-K for more. It’s a small position too, might as well generate some income from that money.
My Buys
So this part was actually pretty tricky. I sold three healthcare companies, which brought my exposure to healthcare down more than I was hoping, on an amount-of-companies-I-own basis. But neither of the two healthcare Dividend Champions I don’t own look particularly appealing. Medtronic (MDT) is an ADR, and there is a chance that I could (a) get hit with ADR maintenance fees, and (b) have Irish withholding tax apply. CR Bard (BCR) looks like a good company with a very appealing earnings trend, but the dividend yield is low at 0.56%, and the Chowder number is only half of what I want at 5.68. The one non-Dividend Champion I was considering, St Jude Medical (STJ), just doesn’t have the dividend growth history I want right now (though I do expect it will in time). So can we look at my current healthcare portfolio holdings and see what’s good? Only Stryker (SYK) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) meet my criteria for purchase. And SYK’s a smaller position with a bigger loss, so …
I bought 16 shares of Stryker Corp (SYK) @ $96.06 (+$22.08 in annual income)
But that wasn’t all of my sale proceeds. So what to do with the rest of the money? Might as well get some more healthcare exposure, but in a different way.
I bought 41 shares of Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI) @ $35.97 (+$29.52 in annual income)
Did I make a mistake in selling a new spinoff?
Disclosure: Long JNJ, KMB, OHI, SYK
10 Comments
I dont blame you for swapping those securities out for something thats more reliable. I would cut my positions too if it didnt work in my overall investing plan. Good to see you picked a couple of solid companies that will do well for you over the long run.
Thanks for sharing
R2R
Roadmap2Retire recently posted…Passive Income Update – Jun 2015
Yeah. It’s just been beaten into my head (mostly by myself) that “compounding = good” and “selling = bad” because it gets in the way of compounding. Can’t help but feel a bit guilty when I sell. But I do sleep better now, and that’s what matters.
I like the OHI purchase. I’m not too familiar with Stryker though. As long as you can sleep well at night, its your portfolio so do what you like! More income is always good though.
Keep up the great work!
ADD
American Dividend Dream recently posted…Dividend Income – June 2015 Update
Yep yep. SYK has a pretty low yield unfortunately, but 3x the dividend history of BAX. SYK also has significantly better EPS growth. Finally, I think SYK has a wider moat and has a bit more “need” as America ages (selling high-margin products like implants). SYK should serve me pretty well in time, I think. Thanks for stopping by!
We all make mistakes… and the best way to deal with them in to learn from them, acknowledge and move on. I think you’re doing that. You pull the plug and move on!
Keep up the good work and take care!
FerdiS
FerdiS recently posted…Quarterly Review, Q2-2015
Very true. Thanks!
Hi DD,
I understand selling the BXLT and HYH holdings, but why did you sell Baxter? Just because of Healthcare exposure?
Baxter is on my watchlist to buy, as their price is close to their 52-week low figure, their growth has been strong and their yield is not too bad at ~3%.
Nice buy on OHI though! I welcome you as a fellow shareholder of that great REIT.
Best wishes, DfS
Dividend for Starters recently posted…Dividend income – June 2015
Yeah, I wasn’t too clear – I want more healthcare exposure, not less. I sold because:
a) I felt that BAX dividend + BXLT dividend < old BAX dividend => it’s most likely a cut. It’s a risk I didn’t want to deal with.
b) I saw a better opportunity in SYK – better moat, more EPS growth, less total debt, much longer dividend history, better positioned for the future (high margin implants)
I have some Baxter. Very limited exposure. I’m planning on keeping it for a longtime because 10 shares is less than a1% of my account value! I don’t even bother.
Now, do,what your gut is telling you, because the best decision is the decision that has already been made.
Vivianne recently posted…Recent Buy – I can trade like Icahn
Yeah, I had a bit more, so it was actually worth selling. Just didn’t feel comfortable with it anymore. Hope it works out for you!