What did you sell, what might you sell? (2012)

[Pickles]

New thread for a new year! Is this the year Stubee finally sells some of his Enbridge shares? Stay tuned....

[scomac]

I now intend to sell all Shaw after the tax-selling season is over. This company's primary interest appears to be in enriching the Shaw family, not "B" stockholders.

It's beginning to look a lot like Magna...

It is done. Exited SJR.B @ $20.35 this morning

[Shifty1]

Sold the 260 BNS I picked up in the first half of December for a 5.5% gain in my TFSA. There might be more short term upside here, but I didn't want to be a greedy pig. I only bought it because it was so undervalued, but I used borrowed funds, so didn't want to hold long term if I was well up.

I did three such trades in 2011, the others were RY (nice gain) and RIM (small loss). I'll now likely cash out the money from TFSA and pay off loan, unless markets dive hard in the next week. Not that I expect them too, but I wouldn't mind!

My other equity holds are mostly looooong and boring. Occasional opportunistic trading entertains me and keeps me from messing with my RRSP or RPP!

[Nemo2]

Sold TEVA @ $43.09 US for ~8.35% jump since buying it 2 months ago...as with (some) others will watch & wait...and perhaps re-buy.

[Pickles]

I sold my Abbott shares today at $56.76. This was a sale planned since they announced their re-structuring but I postponed it until 2012 for tax reasons. It's had a nice run up since I bought it last January (@46.85) -- more than 20% plus dividends. I haven't yet decided what to buy with the proceeds, possibly buy Thomson Reuters. If the price falls appreciably, I might repurchase ABT.

[EmperorCoder]

Trimming my Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK) position, although I'm in for the long run. I'm willing to hold this stock even if it gets a bit overvalued compared to my other holdings.

The trim is simply to rebalance my portfolio a bit after this particular stock shot close to 15% of my net worth in 2011.

[JaydoubleU]

I sold my Abbott shares today at $56.76. This was a sale planned since they announced their re-structuring but I postponed it until 2012 for tax reasons. It's had a nice run up since I bought it last January (@46.85) -- more than 20% plus dividends. I haven't yet decided what to buy with the proceeds, possibly buy Thomson Reuters. If the price falls appreciably, I might repurchase ABT.

Alright, alright, time to fess up.

I also sold ABT, but last week at a slightly lower price. It had a nice run last year, and I'd prefer to sit on the sidelines and watch the restructuring unfold.

Already bought some more TRI..... so I decided to start a position in BDT.

[Norbert Schlenker]

40% of the Enbridge position out the door @ 37.82. Position size more manageable; taxes due in 16 months.

Dumped a few losers for tax losses late last year too: GWO, SLF, YLO.PR.B.

[JaydoubleU]

Sold a third of my shares of MCD @ 100.50.

This was a hard decision to make. Much as stubee is in love with his Enbridge shares, I have come to grow very fond of MCD, which I had gradually come to regard as MY COMPANY. I originally bought it because I saw, day after day near where I live, line-ups at the local McDs: line-ups in the morning, line-ups at lunch, line-ups in cars all the way down the road for the drive-through window. I have come to think of McDonalds as more of a consumer staple than a discretionary . . . I even began to eat there!

However, with the shares trading at a P/E of 20, a PEG of around 2, a book value that would fill an entire library, and a lower and lower dividend yield, I also began to feel that my 75% gain in three years was good enough for now. MCD seems to be going from strength to strength, and I thought it better to take some profits while its on a high rather than wait for the risk that a bit of bad news could suddenly appear.

Meanwhile I still hold a comfortable 3% position in MCD, and I may still grab the occasional double quarter pounder with cheese for the road.

Edited to change two years to three. How time flies.

[scomac]

I had a limit order hit on PWF.PR.L @$25.40 earlier in the week. Although in no immediate danger of being called away (nor is that likely at any point for that matter) these are looking fairly pricey next to a basket of lifeco prefs. Retail continues to reach for yield and push prices higher.

[chiaroscuro]

Sold some of my inter pipeline. I've held it for a long time and it's almost doubled it's list price. Add the dividends and I've done well.

[Taggart]

Total revamp of both RRSP's over the last few days. Blame mostly (but not all) on Vanguard's arriving in town.

Sold:

Ishares REIT ETF

Ishares Short Term Bond ETF

DJ Select Dividend ETF

Powershares International Dividend ETF

SPDR DJ International Real Estate ETF

SPDR S&P Dividend ETF

Wisdomtree ex-U.S. Real Estate ETF

Wisdomtree Interantional REIT

Wisdomtree Japan Small Cap ETF

Wisdomtree International Dividend ETF

Vanguard REIT ETF

TD Canadian Index Fund

TD U.S. Index Fund

TD European Index Fund

TD Canadian Bond Index Fund

TD Japan Index Fund

[ockham]

As painful as it is for a buy and holder, I joined the parade today by reducing my position in ENB by 1/6. It had crept up to 10.4% of my Cdn equity, and to 3.9% of my total portfolio. The sale reduces it to 8.8% of Cdn eq., and to 3.3% of the total.

I first opened the position in Feb/'03. Between then and now, both the stock price and the dividend increased by ~200%.

[AltaRed]

Yes, it is painful. But you will hopefully be able to buy it back in the high 20's a few years from now when the 'flight to yield' abates. John O'Connell on Market Call Tonight put it in perspective. Everyone has been chasing yield and safe havens driving up prices to 'expensive' territory, while at the same time commodity prices continue to soften and commodity stocks still may not yet have bottomed. It is hard to find under/fairly valued companies in this market with 'certain' growth potential.

[pmredmonton]

Sold ABT as have been happy with the run-up, don't see much upside right now and worried about the split.

I also decided to sell AIG to clock a 10% gain. I might buy again after a dip or if it starts to show greater momentum.

[BC_Doc]

Received my end of the year dividends on my Vanguard ETFs:
VTI-- Vanguard Total Stock Market
VEU-- All World Ex US
Bought more shares of each with the dividends.

[Liam]

I sold all my VRX (Valeant Pharmaceuticals) today @ 52.44, an unexpected 4.6% rise from yesterday's close. I acquired these shares years ago as BVF (Biovail) and made a nice return, especially with BVF's healthy dividends from years back. With the stock nearing a 52-week high and the company no longer paying a dividend, it seemed like a good time to get out.

[Pickles]

After days of hemming and hawing, I sold my SLF at a loss of $7.50 per share (still $1.50 better than when I started the H&H). I'm open to buying it back if it sinks much below $19 ( though likely not as much as I held before). I'm not sure I made the right decision but I don't mind freeing up cash in my RRSP for other purchases or just to hold for a while.

[AltaRed]

I reluctantly sold my SLF last quarter for the tax loss. Will potentially pick it up again if it falls in $15-16 range... albeit, I don't need another MFC with a dividend cut.

[Shurville]

I sold all my VRX (Valeant Pharmaceuticals) today @ 52.44, an unexpected 4.6% rise from yesterday's close. I acquired these shares years ago as BVF (Biovail) and made a nice return, especially with BVF's healthy dividends from years back. With the stock nearing a 52-week high and the company no longer paying a dividend, it seemed like a good time to get out.

Your timing is good recognizing that their newly aquired product COLD-FX is useless according to this.......
"On Monday, CBC television issued a news release announcing that its consumer watchdog program, Marketplace, would make "startling new revelations about Canada's top-selling cold remedy" - Cold-fX - when the pro-gram aired on Friday evening.

Just before the program aired, CBC National news anchor Peter Mans-bridge announced a "CBC exclusive" - Marketplace had discovered that Cold-fX's claim that it provides "immediate relief" from colds and flu has no scientific basis. Furthermore, Health Canada had not authorized the manufacturer of Cold-fX, Edmonton-based Afexa Life Sciences, to make that claim and wanted the company to take "corrective action."


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/health/star ... z1jRGp28C9

[Descartes]

I finally gave up on TransAlta (TA). I've held it since 2009 and I think that I've been more than patient. A steady 5% dividend but that's about it: no dividend increase and little growth in price.

I had hopes that a direction change was in the works when they acquired Canadian Hydro Developers but since then Steve has retired and the coal smoke continues to cloud its future.

I split the proceeds among Pembina (PPL) and Crescent Point (CPG), beefing up these existing holdings.

[Shakespeare]

I finally gave up on TransAlta (TA).

Buy below $20, sell above $22.

[Descartes]

I finally gave up on TransAlta (TA).

Buy below $20, sell above $22.

That certainly would have worked over the last 3 years but that wasn't the intent of the original investment and ...I'm a little leery about these milking games particularly when it involves drying up old cows like this stock.

[Springbok]

I finally gave up on TransAlta (TA).

Buy below $20, sell above $22.

I bought 1000 at $18.43 in 2003. Then sold 500 in 2007 at $30.75. Still have the remaining 500. I have thought about buying more. One opinion here. After bad 4th qtr results are released, maybe a buying opportunity? But maybe results are already built in.

Dividend has been increased. I recall when it was $1.00 and it is now $1.16. Maybe 1.8% growth? Not exciting but has been good to me.

[Shakespeare]

I'll probably buy 100 if it goes back below $20. But this company would never be a major holding.