January 2025 Dividend Stocks Challenge Review

For those that are unaware , we are running a couple of investment challenges, one for dividend stocks and one for growth stocks, how a little investment of only £10 a week can perform over time. The purpose is to engage with other investors in a disciplined investment journey while we share our personal choices for this challenge. As January 2025 concludes today (the longest month for everyone!), it’s time to review and assess the performance of these investments that we have made so far, considering their purchase dates, entry prices, and current valuations. Remember that we are updating with every new purchase in our main post called £10 / week Dividend Stocks Challenge.

Portfolio Overview

Below you can see the key details and the chronological summary of the stocks purchased, including their acquisition dates, purchase prices, and the amount invested:

Performance Analysis

1. Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (IIPR)
   • Purchase Date: 23/12/2024
   • Purchase Price: $71.54
   • Current Price (31/01/2025): $73.05
   • Shares Purchased: 0.1398
   • Current Value: £10.21
   • Performance: The stock has appreciated by approximately 2.11% since purchase, resulting in a gain of £0.21.
2. AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)
   • Purchase Date: 30/12/2024
   • Purchase Price: $175.87
   • Current Price (31/01/2025): $177.39
   • Shares Purchased: 0.0569
   • Current Value: £10.09
   • Performance: A slight increase of about 0.08% from the purchase price, leading to a minor gain of £0.09.
3. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY)
   • Purchase Date: 02/01/2025
   • Purchase Price: $57.13
   • Current Price (31/01/2025): $59.40
   • Shares Purchased: 0.1750
   • Current Value: £10.40
   • Performance: The stock has appreciated by approximately 3.95% since purchase, resulting in a gain of £0.40.
4. McDonald’s Corp. (MCD)
   • Purchase Date: 16/01/2025
   • Purchase Price: $279.41
   • Current Price (31/01/2025): $290.32
   • Shares Purchased: 0.0358
   • Current Value: £10.39
   • Performance: An impressive gain of approximately 3.91% in a short period, equating to £0.39.
5. Realty Income Corp. (O)
   • Purchase Date: 23/01/2025
   • Purchase Price: $54.03
   • Current Price (31/01/2025): $54.50
   • Shares Purchased: 0.1851
   • Current Value: £10.09
   • Performance: A modest increase of about 0.009%, resulting in a gain of £0.09.
6. Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN)
   • Purchase Date: 27/01/2025
   • Purchase Price: $186.34
   • Current Price (31/01/2025): $185.27
   • Shares Purchased: 0.0537
   • Current Value: £9.94
   • Performance: A minor decline of about 0.57% since purchase, leading to a loss of £0.06.

Overall Portfolio Performance

The total amount invested over the month was £60. As of 31st January 2025, the combined current value of the portfolio is approximately £61.93. This reflects an overall gain of £1.93, equating to a rate of return (considers timing investments) of approximately 3.22% for the first month, which would be 38.64% annual! But it is not time to dream, we all should know that this goes up and down.

Dividend payments

Only with one month in, as you can imagine, there aren’t much funds in dividend income yet and we have only received £0.23 in dividends up to today’s date, which represents a 0.0038% monthly yield on cost, the equivalent to 4.6% annual yield, however these figures are not accurate just yet as there are more dividends to come. Just remember the key dates to know for dividend stocks.

Conclusion

In this inaugural month, the majority of the selected dividend stocks have demonstrated positive performance, contributing to the growth of the portfolio. While some stocks have experienced slight declines, the overall trend is encouraging. It’s essential to recognize that investing is a long-term game, and short-term fluctuations are natural. We will be doing regular reviews on how they stocks are performing and also the new additions in our main £10 / Week Dividend Stocks Investment Challenge, so keep that one in favourites!

Note: All stock prices are as of 31st January 2025. Performance percentages are approximate and calculated based on the difference between purchase and current prices.