Volatility has once again reared its head as wild market gyrations are presenting us with some interesting dividend investing opportunities. As oil continues its seemingly endless slide, dividend victims are being claimed one by one. Of course, the most recent dividend casualty to hit the dividend investing ranks was none other than MLP favorite, Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI). With its recent dividend slash many are wondering whether or not to trim or liquidate holdings in this MLP staple. It’s an interesting question that all dividend investors must face at some point in time as dividend cuts are inevitable the longer you are a dividend growth investor. About a year ago I asked the question, “Do You Sell After A Dividend Cut?” as I documented my real world decision to keep all my dividend cutters courtesy of the “Great Recession.” Those holdings included, General Electric Company (GE), Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) and Ingersoll-Rand Plc (IR). The point of this discussion is to illustrate that no matter how much research is done prior to making a dividend stock purchase, a dividend, after all, is never a “sure thing.” With that being said, I continue to scour my stock screens as well as my own portfolio holdings for beaten down stocks that still offer a “safe” and sustainable dividend while trading at much more attractive valuations. The only sure thing a long term dividend growth investor can do is to find those stocks and nibble on positions in a consistent manner over time. You may not make your buys at the absolute lows, but you will be building up a position in a hopefully solid dividend payer and raiser at much better values. Sticking to my December stock considerations, it’s no surprise that:

I have added to my taxable account 22.4931 shares at $35.57 for a total investment of $800.00 in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM). With this recent purchase my taxable account holdings in ADM now totals 90.4118 shares for a value of $3,201.48.