August Trades

This past month saw the DOW (DJI) rise from 26428 to 28430. The chart shows a nice steady climb with a slight dip in the middle of the month. New COVID cases in the US are trending down, but still impact daily activity in most of the country. I decided to sell my Pfizer (PFE) stock after reading an article that said that the vaccine they are developing requires a very low storage temperature. This means that only hospitals and a few clinics will be able to handle the vaccine. I made a small profit on the Pfizer stock and put some of that money into a plastics company called Avient (AVNT). They pay a 3% dividend and have a better upside potential when industrial production improves. I added to my Cisco (CSCO) and (FNF) shares when prices dipped in the middle of the month. In my closed end fund holdings I added 400 shares of Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund, Inc. (RQI). I like the mix of real estate investment trusts that they hold and the 8.34% monthly dividend. In my IRA account I sold some funds that were up (FSMEX) and (FSTA) and bought more (FLCEX). I also added a few individual stocks that looked like they could have short term potential. They are Virtu Financial (VIRT) and Ultra Clean Holdings (UCTT). Both have a 9.4+ Equity Summary Score. I expect we will see some market volatility as we get closer to the election. September is also a month when many companies distribute dividends and report on their financial status.