(09-19-2013, 08:46 AM)ChadR Wrote: I was also disappointed in the 5% raise. Like Horace, I was expecting a raise to possibly $0.84. I'll keep reinvesting my dividends, but for the time being no new money. Though if it drops to the mid to low $80s, I might have to back to truck up and start loading up on the stock again. I won't lose faith in the because even the best stocks have periods of stagnation before a nice run up.
This captures my thoughts almost exactly. These are looooooong term relationships we're forming with these companies. And they go through long (sometimes years long) cycles of over-performance, under-performance, and "normal" performance. With a great company (great products, brands, moat, history, commitment to dividend, etc.), patience is critical, and loading up on shares during the under-performing years (assuming the stock price reflects the under-performance) can lead to outsized long-term rewards when the cycles turn again in the company's favor.