Well, I added six new stocks to the Own Every Stock Portfolio yesterday.  One stock was a replacement of an existing stock because the stock was undergoing some listing changes and I didn't want to pay the associated fees for converting the stock.  Anyway, I sold my shares of (VIP) Vimpel Communications and purchased Mobile Telesystems (MBT) as a replacement.  Both companies are telecommunication companies based out of Russia and by switching companies I am able to avoid the transformation and associated fees upcoming with Vimpel's stock.  The 2 shares of MBT were added at a price of $53.13 per share.

Of the other 5 stocks I bought yesterday, 2 are foreign based companies while the other 3 are based domestically.  One of the foreign stocks is Sun Life Financial (SLF), a Canadian based bank.  Sun Life is currently paying a dividend of a little less than 5% and I wanted a to add another Canadian company so I picked up 3 shares of SLF at $29.54 per share.  The other foreign stock added was (CRH), a cement company based out of Dublin, Ireland.  The main reason I decided to buy CRH, plc. was because I am going to be in Ireland next week and I thought I should own at least one stock from the country.  The 4 shares of CRH were purchased at $23.20 per share.

The three U.S. based companies I added yesterday were Prospect Capital Corporation (PSEC), American Software, Inc. (AMSWA), and Polaris Industries, Inc.  Prospect Capital is currently paying a ridiculously high dividend of around 14%.  A dividend that high is often unsustainable, but I thought I would take my chances anyway.  The 8 shares of PSEC were added to the portfolio at $11.71 per share.  American Software is a very small cap company (around 150 million market cap) yielding around 6%.  In addition to the high dividend yield, the company has no debt.  As a result, I decided to purchase 16 shares of AMSWA at $5.94 per share.  Finally, I added 2 shares of Polaris Industries to the portfolio at a price of $47.96, primarily for its nice history of increasing dividends and its respectable earnings growth through the tough times.

With the current additions and changes, the Own Every Stock Portfolio currently has 150 different stocks representing 27 different countries.  If you have been following the portfolio closely, I had double counted a foreign country causing me to overstate the number of different countries within the portfolio on a previous entry.  Currently, based on the prices as I write this entry, the Own Every Stock Portfolio is now worth $11,425.88.  Thanks for stopping by, and I will be sure to toast a green beer for everyone on St. Patrick's Day in Ireland.

Over the past year, 46 of the 147 stocks within the Own Every Stock Portfolio have increased their dividend.  The vast majority of these dividend increases have come from domestic stocks as most of the foreign stocks within the portfolio had lower dividend payouts in 2009 than they did in 2008.  In general, foreign stocks tend to have a more variable dividend based on the company's earnings for the year.  As a result, during a economic downturn, dividend payouts from these companies are reduced.  On the contrary, U.S. stocks tend to pay out a set amount each quarter regardless of the company's earnings for that particular quarter.  In addition, many domestic companies like to boost their quarterly dividend every year to reward long term shareholder and signify strength.  Here is the list of the companies with the Own Every Stock Portfolio that have raised their dividend over the past year:

Stock	Symbol	Previous Quarterly Dividend	Current Quarterly        Dividend	Current Annualized           Dividend	% Dividend    Increase
Life Partner Holdings	LPHI	$0.07	$0.25	$1.00	257.14%
Walmart Stores, Inc.	WMT	$0.2375	$0.2725	$1.09	14.74%
Xilinx, Inc.	XLNX	$0.14	$0.16	$0.64	14.29%
Pfizer, Inc.*	PFE	$0.16	$0.18	$0.72	12.50%
Intel Corporation	INTC	$0.14	$0.1575	$0.63	12.50%
Meridian Biosciences, Inc.	VIVO	$0.17	$0.19	$0.76	11.76%
United Technologies Corp	UTX	$0.385	$0.425	$1.70	10.39%
Vector Group, Ltd.	VGR	$0.3628	$0.40	$1.60	10.25%
McDonald's Corporation	MCD	$0.50	$0.55	$2.20	10.00%
International Bus. Mach.	IBM	$0.50	$0.55	$2.20	10.00%
Travelers Companies, Inc.	TRV	$0.30	$0.33	$1.32	10.00%
Procter & Gamble Co.	PG	$0.40	$0.44	$1.76	10.00%
Corp. Executive Board*	EXBD	$0.10	$0.11	$0.44	10.00%
Abbott Laboratories	ABT	$0.40	$0.44	$1.76	10.00%
Phillip Morris International	PM	$0.54	$0.58	$2.32	7.41%
Waste Management, Inc.	WM	$0.27	$0.29	$1.16	7.41%
Aqua America, Inc.	WTR	$0.135	$0.145	$0.58	7.41%
Coca-Cola Company	KO	$0.41	$0.44	$1.76	7.32%
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	$0.46	$0.49	$1.96	6.52%
Reynolds American, Inc.	RAI	$0.425	$0.45	$1.80	5.88%
Exxon Mobil Corporation	XOM	$0.40	$0.42	$1.68	5.00%
Chevron Corporation	CVX	$0.65	$0.68	$2.72	4.62%
Eli Lilly & Company	LLY	$0.47	$0.49	$1.96	4.26%
Sysco Corporation	SYY	$0.24	$0.25	$1.00	4.17%
Leggett & Platt, Inc.	LEG	$0.25	$0.26	$1.04	4.00%
Kimberly Clark Corp.	KMB	$0.58	$0.60	$2.40	3.45%
Verizon Communications	VZ	$0.46	$0.475	$1.90	3.26%
Bristol Myers Squibb Co.	BMY	$0.31	$0.32	$1.28	3.23%
Xcel Energy, Inc.	XEL	$0.2375	$0.245	$0.98	3.16%
Automatic Data Process.	ADP	$0.33	$0.34	$1.36	3.03%
3M Company	MMM	$0.51	$0.525	$2.10	3.00%
Centerpoint Energy, Inc.	CNP	$0.19	$0.195	$0.78	2.63%
Genuine Parts Company	GPC	$0.40	$0.41	$1.64	2.50%
AT&T Company	T	$0.41	$0.42	$1.68	2.44%
Progress Energy, Inc.	PGN	$0.615	$0.63	$2.52	2.44%
Integrys Energy Group	TEG	$0.67	$0.68	$2.72	1.49%
Pitney Bowes, Inc.	PBI	$0.36	$0.365	$1.46	1.39%
Cincinnati Financial Corp.	CINF	$0.39	$0.395	$1.56	1.28%
HJ Heinz Company	HNZ	$0.415	$0.42	$1.68	1.20%
Consolidated Edison, Inc.	ED	$0.59	$0.595	$2.38	0.85%
Microchip Technology, Inc.	MCHP	$0.339	$0.341	$1.364	0.59%
Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri	TKC			$0.7889**	33.73%
Prudential Financial, Inc.	PRU			$0.70**	20.69%
Tele Norte Leste Hld. Co.	TNE			$2.46**	11.81%
Nokia Corporation	NOK			$0.56**	2.58%
Southern Copper Corp.	SCCO		$0.43	$1.72***

 
*Both Pfizer, Inc. (PFE) and Corporate Executive Board Company (EXBD) raised their dividends recently, however, they also had dividend reductions earlier in 2009.  As a result, they actual decreased their dividend on year over year basis.

**The final five stocks listed above with the exception of Southern Copper only pay a dividend once a year, therefore a quarterly comparison is not applicable.  Also, the three foreign stocks listed as ADRs are difficult to accurately determine the actual dividend increase because the dividend is variable with the company's earnings.  For calculation purposes, I simply used the dividend payout of 2009 versus the dividend payout for 2008.

***Finally, Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) recently announced its quarterly dividend of $0.43 per share.  SCCO also pays a variable dividend, but its upcoming quarterly dividend is the highest its been since fall of 2008 and nearly the amount of the 4 combined quarterly dividends of 2009.

Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett finished the buyout of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNI) a week or so ago and as a result I received $103.00 for the 1.03 shares of BNI stock that were owned in the Own Every Stock Portfolio.  To keep the portfolio at 147 different stocks I used part of the proceeds to purchase a share of Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares, BRK-B, at an initial price of $76.11.  Generally, I haven't been adding many stocks to the Own Every Stock Portfolio that aren't paying a dividend but I thought I would make an exception for Berkshire Hathaway. 

First, I thought since technically Burlington Northern is now part of Berkshire Hathaway, I should keep an interest in that company.  After all, many of the former Burlington Northern shareholder just converted their BNI shares to Berkshire Hathaway shares (either Class A or Class B shares depending on the value of their holdings).  However, for the minuscule size of my holdings in BNI, it didn't make sense to pay the fees associated with the conversion, so I received the cash initially.  Later, I decided to use most of the cash from the buyout to purchase into Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares.  I mean who wouldn't want to have a small interest in Warren Buffett's company.  While many think his buy and hold strategy is no longer applicable in today's markets, he is still arguably one the greatest investors of all time.  However, Berkshire Hathaway will have a difficult time achieving the type of growth Warren Buffett investors have experienced in the past, primarily because it becomes much more difficult to earn higher returns as the assets under management grow bigger and bigger.  With that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Buffett continues to find a way to work his magic in the markets.

Secondly, after Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares split 50 for 1, they were added to the S&P 500 Index.  Previously, the shares weren't added to the bellwether index because of liquidity concerns (the same reason the Class A shares are not part of the index).  Being added to the index draws in a lot of investors that like to mimic the S&P 500 Index.  Generally, this creates a one time jump in share price as investment managers adjust their portfolio to reflect the new company added to the index.  Of course, the opposite is true when a stock is removed from the index.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see what other purchases Berkshire Hathaway will take part in.  Regardless, it's good to have another reason to keep an eye on what Warren Buffet is doing, maybe I can learn something

Last Friday, I added 4 shares of Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA) to the Own Every Stock Portfolio at a price of $22.93 per share.  Fortunately, I was able to pick up the shares of MSA at one of the lowest prices it has been at since last July.  Whether or not that holds as a low or it goes down further remains to be seen.  Mine Safety Appliances is classified as a healthcare stock, but it is also closely correlated to mining and basic material stocks, as these are some of the companies that buy Mine Safety's products.  However, its products are also used by firefighters, construction workers, and military personal, resulting in some diversification from the mining industry.

Currently, MSA is considered a small cap stock with a market cap of around 840 million.  The reason I bought Mine Safety is because it markets products that are necessary or required, producing a very steady demand.  As a result, demand for their products is much more likely to grow as safety equipment improves or regulations tighten.  In addition to its stable product market, Mine Safety Appliances also pays a very nice dividend of $0.24 per quarter (or $0.96 per year), resulting in a dividend yield of around 4.1%.

I have been keeping an eye on the stock for a few months now, but I have been waiting for a pullback to add it to the portfolio.  Over the last month and a half, MSA has fallen from a high of around $28.00 per share to a low of around $23.00, so I feel pretty good about my 22.93 entry point.  Of course, the stock could continue to fall, but as a long term holding I like my purchase price.  In the short term, a lot will depend on its earnings report due out of February 25th.  Last quarter, the company missed estimates badly, coming in at $0.30 per share rather than the estimated $0.37.  Of course, just as important as the earnings report is future guidance.  I honestly don't have a very good feel for where the company's earnings and guidance will come in this quarter, but as a part of the Own Every Stock Portfolio I am not concerned with short term market fluctuations.  If it was part of my option trading portfolio, that would be another story.

Anyway, with the addition of Mine Safety Appliance, the Own Every Stock Portfolio now has 145 different stocks representing 28 different countries around the world.  As of today's close, the Own Every Stock Portfolio is worth $10,228.68.  Thanks for stopping by, I hope you can make it back again soon.  In the meantime, may your investments prosper.

Last week I added 5 shares of Meridian Biosciences, Inc. (VIVO) to the Own Every Stock Portfolio.  With the addition of (VIVO) the Own Every Stock Portfolio now has a total of 144 stocks representing 28 different countries throughout the world.  Meridian Biosciences is a small cap healthcare sector stock with a current market capitalization of around 810 million.  The company's core business is diagnostic test kits for a variety of diseases sold in several countries primarily located in North America and Europe.  In its most recent quarterly earnings, the company was able to boost profit by 10%, partially by test kits that detect the flu.  The shares of (VIVO) were added to the Own Every Stock portfolio at a cost of  19.66 per share.

Currently, Meridian Biosciences is trading at around 20 times earnings with zero long term debt and around 60 million in cash.  Last month, the company boosted its dividend 11.76% from $0.17 per quarter to $0.19 per quarter ($0.76 per year).  With its latest dividend increase, VIVO shares are now yielding just under 3.8%.  It is difficult to find a potential growth company with a solid dividend yield, but I believe Meridian Biosciences fits these two criteria nicely.  Add in the fact the company has no debt, and I am optimistic about the future prospects of the company.  Of course, my opinion is just that, an opinion, and should not be construed as an investment recommendation.  A person considering any investment should conduct their own due diligence or contact an investment advisor before making any investment decisions.

Last week, I added 6 shares of (NLY) Annaly Capital Management, Inc. to the portfolio at a price of $17.40 per share.  Basically, I added the stock to the portfolio because it has a ridiculously high dividend yield of over 17%.  While a dividend yield that high isn't likely to be sustainable long term, I thought I would pick up an amazing yield while I can.  Plus, Annaly Capital does have a nice dividend paying history, so even if the payout rate ends up being lower that its current rate, it is still likely to be a very good dividend.  Also, the company operates as a (REIT) real estate investment trust, which requires them to pay out at least 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders.

As it turns out,  Annaly's earnings slightly beat expectations yesterday after the bell, so I was able to get a little pop in the price I entered the stock at.  For the quarter, NLY earned $0.79 per share in core earnings per share, while they earned $1.31 per share on a GAAP basis.  How the company makes money can be a complex question, but basically the company invests in a variety of mortgage back investments and earns a return for its shareholders.  Leverage is a necessary tool for this type of company, but it has done a good job of managing its leverage to withstand the financial crisis that hindered or eliminated many similar type companies.  As of the end of 2009, Annaly Capital had a leverage ratio of 5.7 to 1.

Finally, NLY is only trading at a slight premium to its tangible book value.  However, this number can be very misleading when it comes to mortgage related investments.  What the mortgage securities are valued on the books at and what the true value of the mortgage securities are can vary considerable.  All we need to do to prove this point is look back at what some of the book values were before the housing meltdown happened and what their true value actually was.  Regardless, the Own Every Stock Portfolio had very little exposure to the REIT market, so I thought I would add (NLY) Annaly Capital Management, Inc. to the portfolio.  Once again, I encourage everyone to do their own due diligence before purchasing any investments as I am not making a recommendation but rather supplying information about my holdings in the Own Every Stock Portfolio.  Thanks for stopping by.

It has been quite awhile since I have listed all the stocks within the Own Every Stock Portfolio.  On this report I also added a column of the total return of each stock since being added to the portfolio.  Unfortunately, there are a lot of red number in the portfolio as the overall return since beginning the Project is -4.48%.  There were a few times a couple weeks ago that the portfolio broke into positive territory, but it has since slid back into the red.  However, considering I started this project right before the financial crisis, I am fairly pleased with how well the overall portfolio has held up. 

Here are the current stocks in the Own Every Stock Portfolio (listed in alphabetical order by symbol):

Stock	Symbol	# of Shares	Overall Return
Alcoa, Inc.	AA	2.117	-63.20%
Abbott Laboratories	ABT	2.015	25.31%
Automatic Data Processing, Inc.	ADP	2.033	19.28%
Ameren Corporation	AEE	2.165	-26.35%
Amkor Technology	AMKR	6.000	-46.82%
American Express Company	AXP	1.035	-32.84%
Aircastle, Ltd	AYR	3.335	-46.44%
Boeing Company	BA	1.056	-33.59%
Bank of America Corporation	BAC	2.092	-59.75%
BB&T Corporation	BBT	2.142	-12.44%
Barclays PLC	BCS	3.112	-39.27%
Briggs & Stratton Corporation	BGG	4.243	12.75%
B & G Foods	BGS	9.513	15.92%
BH Billiton	BHP	1.000	7.55%
Banco Latinoamericano de Comerico	BLX	6.063	1.33%
Bristol Myers Squibb Company	BMY	3.227	30.82%
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation	BNI	1.030	22.95%
BT Group, plc	BT	2.251	-35.35%
Biovail Corporation	BVF	5.556	42.90%
Boyd GamingCorporation	BYD	6.000	-46.50%
Citigroup, Inc.	C	1.050	-90.21%
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.	CALM	3.014	39.30%
Caterpillar, Inc.	CAT	1.064	-12.57%
Cato Corporation	CATO	4.032	-1.96%
CBS Corporation	CBS	5.413	-18.48%
Cellcom Israel Ltd.	CEL	3.058	6.51%
CNOOC Ltd.	CEO	1.016	26.77%
Cognex Corporation	CGNX	5.168	9.08%
Cherokee, Inc.	CHKE	2.352	-37.26%
Bancolumbia S.A.	CIB	3.041	49.72%
Cincinnati Financial Corporation	CINF	3.044	5.41%
Comerica, Inc.	CMA	2.091	6.77%
Centerpoint Energy, Inc.	CNP	5.429	10.90%
CPFL Energia S.A.	CPL	1.127	26.33%
Computer Programs & Systems, Inc.	CPSI	3.210	139.01%
Crane Company	CR	4.207	94.85%
Cisco Systems, Inc.	CSCO	4.000	24.61%
Centurytel, Inc.	CTL	4.168	17.13%
Chevron Corporation	CVX	1.056	-3.31%
Cemex S.A.B de C.V.	CX	3.000	-55.11%
Duetsche Bank AG	DB	1.008	-36.04%
DuPont de Nemours and Company	DD	1.091	-25.87%
Deere & Company	DE	1.034	-22.83%
Diageo	DEO	1.068	-10.89%
Walt Disney Company	DIS	2.056	-11.60%
Deluxe Corporation	DLX	5.569	20.91%
Dow Chemical Company	DOW	2.149	-13.30%
Diana Shipping, Inc.	DSX	2.247	-41.55%
DTE Energy Company	DTE	1.097	-1.49%
ENI SpA	E	2.044	6.85%
American Ecology Corporation	ECOL	5.103	-8.80%
Consolidated Edison, Inc.	ED	2.056	19.39%
Eastman Kodak Company	EK	20.000	3.52%
Eaton Corporation	ETN	1.064	-25.80%
Entergy Corporation	ETR	1.057	-18.79%
Corporate Executive Board Company	EXBD	2.130	-10.76%
France Telecom ADS	FTE	3.000	-9.08%
General Electric	GE	1.092	-53.16%
Gold Fields, Ltd.	GFI	5.145	-10.13%
General Motors Corporation	GM	2.000	-95.45%
Genuine Parts Company	GPC	3.000	-0.34%
Great Plains Energy, Inc.	GXP	3.280	-24.80%
Home Depot, Inc.	HD	2.107	-5.93%
Honda Motor Company, Ltd.	HMC	3.072	24.56%
HJ Heinz Company	HNZ	2.136	3.44%
Honeywell International, Inc.	HON	1.054	-27.21%
Hewlett Packard Company	HPQ	1.013	0.20%
International Business Machines	IBM	1.030	14.10%
ING Groep, NV	ING	2.058	-69.01%
Intel Corporation	INTC	2.102	-16.89%
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	3.098	24.42%
JP Morgan Chase & Company	JPM	1.028	-6.21%
Kraft Foods, Inc.	KFT	2.132	-7.06%
Kimberly Clark Corporation	KMB	1.066	3.65%
Coca-Cola Company	KO	1.049	2.75%
Leggett & Platt, Inc.	LEG	5.130	16.61%
LAN Airlines	LFL	5.230	20.51%
Eli Lilly & Company	LLY	3.041	5.96%
Life Partner Holdings, Inc.	LPHI	5.062	12.57%
Lloyds TSB Group	LYG	3.686	-75.91%
Marriott International	MAR	2.031	-23.34%
Masco Corporation	MAS	4.299	-16.86%
Mattell, Inc.	MAT	5.443	24.63%
McDonald's Corporation	MCD	1.052	23.39%
Microchip Technology, Inc.	MCHP	2.160	-10.82%
3M Company	MMM	1.049	1.79%
Altria Group, Inc.	MO	1.122	15.62%
Merck & Company, Inc.	MRK	1.077	-16.97%
Marathon Oil Corporation	MRO	3.102	21.57%
Microsoft Corporation	MSFT	2.067	-11.81%
Magyar Telekom Telecommunications	MTA	3.381	-1.27%
Nokia Corporation	NOK	6.000	-16.10%
Newell Rubbermaid, Inc.	NWL	4.240	-14.42%
Telecom Corporation of New Zealand	NZT	4.526	-38.30%
Paychex, Inc.	PAYX	2.136	-1.32%
Pitney Bowes, Inc.	PBI	4.125	-0.07%
Southern Copper Corporation	PCU	3.218	19.68%
Pepsico, Inc.	PEP	1.046	-16.94%
Pfizer, Inc.	PFE	2.193	-13.43%
Procter & Gamble Company	PG	1.045	-8.35%
Progress Energy, Inc.	PGN	2.064	7.61%
Phillippine Long Distance Telephone Co.	PHI	2.000	15.11%
Packaging Corporation of America	PKG	3.223	-4.59%
Phillip Morris International	PM	1.079	7.76%
Pepco Holdings, Inc.	POM	7.235	31.45%
Prudential Financial, Inc.	PRU	1.034	-31.89%
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.	PTEN	8.244	77.20%
Qualcomm, Inc.	QCOM	2.047	18.56%
Reynolds American, Inc.	RAI	1.125	-10.33%
Companhia Siderurgica Nacional	SID	2.143	-24.80%
Sara Lee Corporation	SLE	6.383	-0.11%
Sasol, Ltd.	SSL	2.144	-14.00%
Sovran Self Storage, Inc.	SSS	2.220	-13.41%
Banco Santander, Ltd.	STD	4.371	-23.30%
Sysco Corporation	SYY	3.180	-2.03%
AT&T, Inc.	T	1.081	-31.95%
TAL International Group, Inc.	TAL	3.107	-35.68%
Integrys Energy Group, Inc.	TEG	1.120	-6.10%
Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri	TKC	5.000	12.55%
Tomkins	TKS	5.423	1.70%
Tele Norte Leste Participacoes S.A.	TNE	5.000	-5.38%
Travelers Companies, Inc.	TRV	2.025	17.38%
Telecomunicacoes De Sao Paulo	TSP	3.358	12.07%
Tata Motors, Inc.	TTM	5.043	10.41%
Textron, Inc.	TXT	4.096	29.33%
United Technologies Corporation	UTX	1.043	-2.72%
Vector Group, Inc.	VGR	4.693	-1.55%
Vimpel Communications	VIP	3.039	-39.22%
Verizon Communications	VZ	1.078	-18.34%
Wells Fargo & Company	WFC	3.182	14.07%
Whole Foods Market, Inc.	WFMI	2.000	-13.37%
WSP Holdings, Inc.	WH	16.050	-47.69%
Windstream Corporation	WIN	7.056	0.36%
Waste Management, Inc.	WMI	2.115	-0.41%
Walmart Stores, Inc.	WMT	1.029	22.31%
Worthington Industries, Inc.	WOR	5.334	-16.19%
Aqua America, Inc.	WTR	5.231	5.92%
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.	WWE	4.722	2.03%
Weyerhaeuser Company	WY	1.049	-38.35%
Xcel Energy, Inc.	XEL	3.236	10.85%
Xilinx, Inc.	XLNX	3.128	8.03%
Exxon Mobil Corporation	XOM	1.034	-24.57%

The Coca Cola Company (KO) has been another consistent stock performer in the Own Every Stock Portfolio.  Year after year, Coke continues to produce steady revenue and profits, while increasing their stock dividend every year.  However, unless the company's fourth quarter widely beats expectations, Coke will have its first year over year drop in revenue in many years.  Nevertheless, one of the world's most well know logos and brands, Coca Cola, has held up much better than most companies through the recession.  Over the past several months, KO stock has steadily climbed, continually making new 52 week highs along the way.  Today, Coke's stock closed at 59.11 after reaching an intra-day high of 59.40, both of these respective numbers represent the stock's 52 week highs.  The stock may be getting a little ahead of its self fundamentally, but solid earnings growth are expected in 2010, so expect the forward looking PE number to gradually move down unless the stock price continues to soar.  Even at its current levels, Coca Cola's stock is priced at a very similar valuation to its nearest competitor, Pepsi.

Of course, another reason investors have liked Coke's stock over the years is its consistent dividend growth.  For the past 47 years, The Coca-Cola Company has raised its dividend every year.  In the chart below, I went back to 1975 to show what the split adjusted annualized dividend was and the subsequent dividend percent increase amount.  Since 1975, KO stock has had 5 stock splits, turning every share a person owned in 1975 into 48 shares today.  In 1996, 1992, 1990, and 1977, Coke's stock had 2 for 1 splits, while in 1986 the stock split 3 for 1.

The Coca Cola Company's Historical Dividend Increases (split adjusted)

Year	Yearly Dividends            Paid	Year over Year    % Increase	Year	Yearly Dividends            Paid	Year over Year    % Increase
1975	$0.0479		1993	$0.34	21.43%
1976	$0.0552	15.24%	1994	$0.39	14.71%
1977	$0.0642	16.30%	1995	$0.44	12.82%
1978	$0.0725	12.93%	1996	$0.50	13.64%
1979	$0.0817	12.69%	1997	$0.56	12.00%
1980	$0.09	10.16%	1998	$0.60	7.14%
1981	$0.0967	7.44%	1999	$0.64	6.67%
1982	$0.1033	6.83%	2000	$0.68	6.25%
1983	$0.1117	8.13%	2001	$0.72	5.88%
1984	$0.115	2.95%	2002	$0.80	11.11%
1985	$0.1233	7.22%	2003	$0.88	10.00%
1986	$0.13	5.43%	2004	$1.00	13.64%
1987	$0.14	7.69%	2005	$1.12	12.00%
1988	$0.15	7.14%	2006	$1.24	10.71%
1989	$0.17	13.33%	2007	$1.36	9.68%
1990	$0.20	17.65%	2008	$1.52	11.76%
1991	$0.24	20.00%	2009	$1.64	7.89%
1992	$0.28	16.67%

Moving forward, I expect The Coca Cola Company to continue to steadily grind its way forward with improving earnings and yearly dividend hikes.  One potential road block for the company could be a proposed tax on soft drinks.  However, just as the tobacco companies continue to pass the taxes on to the consumer, I would expect the large beverage companies to do the same.  At some point, higher prices may lessen demand, but the energy drinks don't seem to have a problem selling product at higher prices, albeit, not at the quantity Coke's sells its name brand soda.  Thanks for stopping by my blog, and please be sure to due your own investment research before making any investment decisions.

When General Electric Company was added to the Own Every Stock Portfolio a couple years ago, the financial markets were a much different environment than the investment landscape today.  Back then, General Electric was considered a good barometer of the overall market because the large conglomerate's business was thought to be diversified across many different sectors of the economy.  To some extent, that premise was true, but what wasn't factored in, was how one arm of the business (GE Capital) could severely damage and bring down the overall profits and stability of the company as a whole.  In fact, the losses from the GE Capital arm aren't expected to stabilize and reverse course until 2011.  In addition, the losses from the financing arm were so detrimental to General Electric that earlier this year the company was forced to forgo its annual dividend increase and instead cut its dividend by nearly 70% down to $.10 per quarter from $.31 per quarter.

However, GE has begun to change its focus from a large conglomerate back to its core industrial strengths.  For example, GE recently announced it is selling 51% of its stake in NBC to Comcast for an estimated 30 billion dollar overall transaction.  I wouldn't expect the company to divest too much of its assets, but I do expect the growth to come from its core businesses.  A good example is the 14 billion dollar wind generation project in Oregon, GE was just awarded.  General Electric will remain a big conglomerate, but I expect its major revenue and earnings drivers to be from its industrial businesses.

From a technical standpoint, GE's stock has bounced off its bottom channel while trending up from its March low of around $6 to its current level of around $16.  However, the channel has been narrowing suggesting a breakout move in one direction.  Up the upside, I would look for a confirmed breakthrough of the 17.50 to 18.00 range.  18.45 is the current 52 week high and the stock hit some strong resistance in September when it tested the 17.00 to 17.50 range before receding to the $14 support level and bouncing up to its current levels.  For the past month, GE has been oscillating around the $16 level in a consolidating fashion similar to the overall market.  I expect more consolidation to occur before a test and breakthrough of either resistance or support.  Personally, I would wait for confirmation of direction before making a shorter term trade in either direction.  Over the long term, I expect General Electric to continue growing its core business eventually improving revenue, earnings, and its stock price.

Disclaimer:  My opinions should not be viewed as a recommendation to buy or sell General Electric and is intended only for informational purposes.  Please conduct your own due diligence before making any investment decision.

Today, I put together a spreadsheet with the dividend yield of all 141 stocks within the Own Every Stock Portfolio.  Currently, only 9 stocks within the portfolio do not pay a dividend, and 35 stocks are producing a dividend of over 5%.  However, I am going to group the stocks into two categories:  Domestic stocks and foreign stocks issued as ADRs on a U.S. Exchange.  All the dividend yields on the U.S. companies are based on their current dividend payout while the foreign based companies are based on the dividend payments made in 2009.  It is much more difficult to forecast upcoming dividends on foreign stocks, because the amounts will vary from year to year and often times special dividends are paid in addition to regular dividends.  In addition, the top few dividend yields on the foreign stocks listed are likely to be cut or significantly reduced in 2010, especially Lloyd's Banking Group and WSP Holdings.  Here is a chart with the 35 stocks within the Own Every Stock Portfolio currently earning more than a 5% dividend yield based on today's closing prices.

Domestic Stocks	Symbol	Dividend      Yield	Foreign Stocks	Symbol	Dividend       Yield
Cherokee, Inc.	CHKE	11.76%	Lloyds Banking Group	LYG	32.02%
Windstream Corp.	WIN	9.17%	WSP Holdings Ltd.	WH	22.26%
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.	WWE	8.78%	Tele Norte Leste Part.	TNE	11.88%
B & G Foods, Inc.	BGS	7.82%	France Telecom	FTE	9.86%
Centurytel, Inc.	CTL	7.81%	Cellcom Israel	CEL	9.68%
Deluxe Corporation	DLX	7.28%	Magyar Telekom	MTA	9.26%
Altria Group, Inc.	MO	7.02%	Telecom Corp of New Zealand	NZT	9.13%
Reynolds American, Inc.	RAI	6.81%	Philippine Long Distance	PHI	6.46%
Integrys Energy Group, Inc.	TEG	6.56%	CPFL Energia SA	CPL	5.89%
Pepco Holdings, Inc.	POM	6.40%	Banco Santander SA	STD	5.33%
Pitney Bowes, Inc.	PBI	6.40%	Telecom de Sao Paulo SA	TSP	5.22%
Cincinnati Financial Corp.	CINF	6.19%	Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri	TKC	5.00%
Progress Energy, Inc.	PGN	6.02%
AT&T, Inc.	T	5.95%
Ameren Corporation	AEE	5.75%
Verizon Communications	VZ	5.71%
Sovran Self Storage, Inc.	SSS	5.48%
Centerpoint Energy, Inc.	CNP	5.47%
Eli Lilly & Company	LLY	5.36%
Consolidated Edison, Inc.	ED	5.34%
Leggett & Platt, Inc.	LEG	5.21%
DuPont de Nemours & Co.	DD	5.19%
Life Partners Holdings, Inc.	LPHI	5.15%