So, I had big plans for 2024: writing posts for this blog, reading a few investing books, developing a script to track my portfolio, and investing around 850€ each month.
I managed to achieve one of those goals—I invested every month.
In this post, I’ll review my portfolio, dividends, and purchases in 2024. I’ll also share my thoughts on the current holdings, so I can reflect on my decisions in the future.
Portfolio Overview
At the end of 2024, my portfolio was valued at approximately 17 015€. At the start of the year, it was 4 736€. I added 850€ each month, totaling 10 200€. I received 405€ in dividends (284€ after tax), all of which was reinvested. This means the portfolio gained 1673€ in value!
| Contribution | |
|---|---|
| Start of the year | 4736€ |
| Invested | 10 200€ |
| Dividends | 405€ |
| Performance | 1673€ |
| End of the year | 17 015€ |
The portfolio consists of 16 stocks. I added quite a few and even made a small sale. Here’s the current composition:
| Company | Share Count | Value | % of Full Portfolio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agree Realty Corporation (ADC) | 26 | $1828.58 | 10.29% |
| Realty Income Corporation (O) | 29 | $1545.12 | 8.70% |
| ASR Nederland N.V (ASRNL) | 31 | 1415.15€ | 8.21% |
| The Hershey Company (HSY) | 8 | $1352.24 | 7.61% |
| Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) | 9 | $1297.71 | 7.30% |
| T. Rowe Price Group, Inc (TROW) | 11 | $1261.59 | 7.10% |
| The Coca-Cola Company (KO) | 19 | $1173.25 | 6.60% |
| Rexford Industrial Realty Inc (REXR) | 30 | $1170.60 | 6.59% |
| Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V (AD) | 34 | 1088.00€ | 6.32% |
| NIKE, Inc (NKE) | 14 | $1026.34 | 5.78% |
| Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) | 11 | $1018.38 | 5.73% |
| Visa Inc (V) | 3 | $944.73 | 5.32% |
| Lemonade, Inc (LMND) | 23 | $872.85 | 4.91% |
| VICI Properties Inc (VICI) | 21 | $618.66 | 3.48% |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc (GILD) | 6 | $548.46 | 3.09% |
| British American Tobacco p.l.c (BATS) | 13 | £386.49 | 2.70% |
The total dividend yield is 3.86% before tax (2.7% after tax). My portfolio’s Projected Annual Dividend Income (PADI) for 2025 is now 663€ (464€ after tax). The portfolio tracker I use calculates an average dividend growth rate of 7.4%.
Key Metrics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Portfolio value | 17 015€ |
| Dividend yield | 3.86% (2.7%) |
| PADI | 663€ (464€) |
| Organic dividend growth rate | 7.4% |
Holdings
Let’s dive into the individual holdings and review their performance.
REITs
I invested in several REITs in 2024. With interest rates climbing in recent years, REIT prices have been depressed, making it an opportune time to buy. I added Realty Income, Agree Realty, VICI Properties, and Rexford Industrial Realty to my portfolio.
Agree Realty Corporation ($ADC)
Agree Realty performed exceptionally well, delivering a +20% gain since my purchases. It’s my largest positions and operates similarly to Realty Income, owning properties for retailers. However, due to its smaller scale, $ADC has higher growth potential compared to $O.
Realty Income Corporation ($O)
Realty Income has been more volatile, hovering around my purchase price. As another large position in my portfolio, it remains a reliable dividend payer despite limited price movement.
VICI Properties Inc. ($VICI)
VICI operates in the casino industry, offering a solid dividend yield. While the stock price hasn’t moved much, the dividend has seen slight growth. I haven’t followed this holding closely but see it as a steady income generator. Gambling world is not something I adore…but I guess this is some kind of diversification.
Rexford Industrial Realty Inc. ($REXR)
Rexford is my newest REIT. It focuses on industrial properties, and I believe its market could benefit from Trump’s trade policies if U.S. manufacturing focuses more into U.S. While this might take time, the stock’s 17% 5-year dividend CAGR and 4.28% starting yield make it a compelling long-term investment. I recently added more as the price fell even more. Just hoping that it’s not a falling knife.
Financials
My financial sector exposure includes T. Rowe Price, Visa, ASR Nederland, and Lemonade.
T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. ($TROW)
T. Rowe Price is a classic dividend growth stock with 27 consecutive years of increases. It provides stable exposure to financial services such as fund management etc., and I see it as a long-term core holding.
Visa Inc. ($V)
Visa is a household name, offering exceptional growth potential with a 15% 5-year dividend CAGR. While its current yield is a modest 0.75%, Visa’s strong brand and consistent growth make it interesting. I wanted some high growth in my portfolio and Visa offers just that. It has appreciated in price as well already! Great for long term hold.
ASR Nederland N.V. ($ASRNL)
Insurance stocks were in good buying ranges during recent years (thank you for the heads up for Dividend Talk -podcast). ASR Nederland is a Dutch insurance company with a juicy 6.51% yield. I’m optimistic about its steady dividend income and its defensiveness in uncertain markets.
Lemonade, Inc. ($LMND)
Lemonade in the other hand might not ring any bells for most people. Honestly the first thing that made me interested in the company was the name. “What does a company called Lemonade operate in?” It’s also an insurance company. But it’s a new fintech company with premise of paying the money in minutes. The company uses AI in it’s operations and is perfect for AI play. It’s still making a loss, but I believe in the company.
Consumer Staples
This sector includes Hershey, Coca-Cola, Ahold Delhaize, and British American Tobacco.
The Hershey Company ($HSY)
Hershey has struggled with rising cocoa prices, but this created a great buying opportunity for dividend investors. Despite the headwinds, I believe its strong brand and history of dividend growth make it a solid long-term investment. Even though I decided to cut off sweets including chocolate from my diet for a few months after New Year, I won’t see the chocolate consuption going down generally. Hershey combined with the non-profit foundation will most likely keep on the dividend growth in the future as well.
The Coca-Cola Company ($KO)
Coca-Cola is a classic. In my opinion, it’s one of the strongest brands in the world. Where ever I have traveled, I’ve always seen Coca-Cola there. And it’s in popular culture as well, TV-shows, movies etc. It’s everywhere. One could argue that sugary liquids are bad for health and as the population grows more concious about their health, the sales of Coca-Cola might go down. But I think that cola drinks are here to stay. Coca-Cola offers a decent 3.14% yield currently. And in my honest opinion Coke is far superior to Pepsi!
Koninklijke Ahold Delhaize N.V. ($AD)
Ahold Delhaize is a Dutch supermarket chain operating in Europe and US. It’s pretty stable and defensive. I feel that if economy takes an up swing and people have more to spend, they’ll go for higher margin products. And in a down turn, people will stop spending in restaurants and start cooking at home. So I think it’s a win-win situation. And it offers a current dividend yield of 3.47%.
British American Tobacco p.l.c. ($BATS)
British American Tobacco is a true sin stock. I have never supported smoking. But this stock let’s me profit from other people being addicted to it. I feel like this industry is going to be dead at some point but for now will still be profitable. It offers nice almots 8% yield. But due to nature of the business, this is first in my sell list.
Consumer Discretionary
My consumer discretionary holdings include Starbucks and Nike.
Starbucks Corporation ($SBUX)
Starbuck is a bit mystery to me. I have been to it maybe once or twice in my life. And I don’t really get the fuzz. Where I live, we brew the coffee at home. But judging by TV and movies, people in US seem to start the day everyday with a cup of “coffee” from Starbucks. 2024 however provided a good buying opportunity as the share dropped from $96 to about $72. I ended up buying some…and should have bought a full position as they announced a new CEO coming from Chipotle. That made the stock pop back to $95. During christmass I bought some more when the price had cooled to $89. Starbucks offers a 2.64% dividend yield currently.
NIKE, Inc. ($NKE)
Nike is in the other hand a company selling a product I realise why people are buying it. They make nice shoes but sales have been decreasing. Therefore the price was bit depressed 2024 dropping from start of year $108 to $71. I bought up some then and added some more at $84. Now the stock is back to $73. Dividend is a bit low end with 2.18% currently. But 5yr CAGR for it is a bit less than 10%. Nike also changed it’s strategy to direct products more directly to athletes instead of normal consumer shoes. Sounds like a good move to become more premium brand in more tight and concious clientelle. If they make the best sports shoes it builds the brand and consumers will follow.
Healthcare
The healthcare sector comprises Johnson & Johnson and Gilead Sciences.
Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ)
Johnson & Johnson is a dividend growth classic, offering a 3.44% yield. I bought shares at an average cost of $147 and appreciate its integration into everyday life—it’s always a nice surprise to find products I use regularly tied to this company. The mouth wash I was using is from Johnson & Johnson! I didn’t even know about the company in 2023…and it’s part of my daily routines! Awesome.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. ($GILD)
Gilead Sciences caught my eye when it suddenly popped in a list with a nice price appreciation. It had then announced good news for it’s HIV medication which could achieve 100% results in prevention of HIV with just twice a year injection. Far better than current dayily pills! I ended up buying some with supporting facts that Gilead is in fact a leader in HIV treatment but also had a pipeline for other drugs e.g. for cancer. Dividend yield is now 3.37% and 5yr CAGR is about 5.6%. I feel like I should have bought more as the price has went from $69 to $91 since I bought it.
Goals for 2025
Here are my financial and personal goals for the coming year:
Investing Goals
- Continue investing 850€ monthly, increasing this amount by 50% of any raise I receive.
- Grow my safety net from 2,000€ to 5,000€.
- Raise my PADI for 2026 to 850€ after tax (a 400€ increase).
- Read at least one book about investing.
Non-Investing Goals
- Eat better and cook more at home.
- Spend more time outdoors with my dog.
- Write more blog posts—I’m paying for the server and domain, so I should make use of them!
Conclusion
2024 was a productive year. While I didn’t write as much as I intended, I stayed consistent with my investing strategy. Tracking the markets, reading articles, and listening to podcasts have helped me stay informed and confident in my decisions. My PADI growth has been good, and I’m excited to keep the momentum going.
I hope you had a successful 2024 and wish you an even better 2025. Let’s keep investing and growing together!
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share your feedback. You can tag me on X @dividendgrowthQ.
Until next time!
With much love, Dividend Growth Quest
* Please note, the content of this blog is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice. I am sharing my journey into dividend growth investing; I am not a financial specialist. I cannot guarantee the validity of the data presented. Do not take any action based solely on what you read.