Sell: ARLP

In the aftermath of the election the market went all sorts of crazy. I sold my ARLP position when it jumped up several points. It was on my sell list for a while, given their Div Cuts, and uncertain future. The stock has been recovering, and while it may continue to climb for some time to come, this was a good point for me to sell. I used the proceeds and existing cash to invest in a position in O.

This makes a huge dent in my dividend income, as ARLP paid well. I'm selling mainly because I have additional overhead to complete forms for ARLP's special tax structure. This wipes out most of my income. Second, they qualified for a sale after cutting their dividend. I want stocks that can grow their div over time, even if slowly.  ARLP served me well -- while I took a loss on the stock, they paid me around $920 in dividends over the years. I knew they were a high paying div stock and I knew the risks involved. Again, this income helped me get my dividend machine going, and allowed me to get into other positions.

I waited until after their last div payout of the year, and got lucky with a coal industry bump after the election. I'm happy to get this off the books in 2016.

Sell: COP

As I have mentioned before, COP cut their dividend and landed on my watch to sell list. I waited a bit and COP nicely recovered from their bottom, and I was able unload all my shares at a minimal capital loss. Including dividends I came out well ahead. I'm still in CVX, and will remain so unless their also cut their dividend. They haven't raised, but with oil prices recovering who knows where the future will take us.

I haven't sold stocks in a long time, and I'm happy with COP's ride overall. It helped me with my div strategy and gained me solid divs. It feels good to sell a stock that cut their div.

Meanwhile the proceeds from COP will add to my growing pile of cash, and I'm looking to buy soon. But I haven't made a purchase yet this year.