Well, it’s been almost a full month since my last ‘recent stock purchase’ has been posted and it’s not for lack of finding stocks to invest in, rather, just watching the market move in a very aimless direction has made it a bit of a challenge in deciding where to make my buy. Another way of saying this is the market has been moving sideways in recent weeks and so have many of my stock considerations. Of course, if you have been following me for a while you already know that no matter what’s going on in the world nor the market (up, down and sideways), I still make at least one monthly buy staying consistent in building up my passive income stream.

Going into April I was looking to add to my health REITs again as the whole sector has been beaten silly the last five or six months. I love to buy any stock on weakness. Adding to my HCP, Inc. (HCP), Care Capital Properties, Inc. (CCP) and even initiating a position in LTC Properties, Inc. (LTC) in recent months looked like a sure thing this month as well but, alas, the health REITs really rebounded quite nicely from their lows and are looking less compelling to me these days. Where else can we find beaten down stocks in unloved sectors? Well, looking at my April stock considerations I also turned to the food staples. You all know the names, Campbell Soup Company (CPB), Kellogg Company (K), Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL), General Mills, Inc. (GIS) among others with some of these stocks hitting new lows seemingly every few days, causing yields (which are safe) to become ever more attractive. With that being said:

I have added to my taxable account 8.0 shares at $57.46 for a total investment of $459.68 in General Mills, Inc. (GIS). With this recent purchase my taxable account holdings in GIS now totals 101.9294 shares with a market value of $5,827.30. This was a free trade.

I have added to my ROTH account 8.0 shares at $57.47 for a total investment of $459.76 in General Mills, Inc. (GIS). This is a new position in my ROTH account and was a free trade.

I guess this recent buy shouldn’t be much of a surprise as GIS has been trending lower for a while offering us yields well north of 3% that is still considered quite safe. Yes, declining sales, a strong U.S. dollar, a barrage of downgrades from analysts among other headwinds like product offerings that are not ‘with the times’ are all contributing factors in driving share prices ever lower. Of course, seeing this does not cause me to run from the stock rather towards it. I’d rather nibble on positions when others are fleeing because I still believe that GIS, long term, will come out just fine. As HRL is changing with the times by recently acquiring Applegate: Natural and Organic Meat, Justin’s: Natural and Organic Nut Butters, Muscle Milk: Protein Shakes and JENNIE-O® Turkey among others moving towards current consumer tastes and trends so is GIS by buying Annie’s, Lärabar, Cascadian Farm and other natural and organic food makers. As with many ‘old guard’ companies, I believe GIS can successfully adapt to changing times.

What do you think about my recent buys? Are you also looking at the consumer (food) staples or other stocks in the month of April? Please let me know below.