Investing 102

[CRCRFT78]

Let me see if I've got an understanding of this investing 102:
1. Look into companies I know and use, companies with a history and a good understanding of their business.
2. A nice paying dividend is good, but a higher yield % is better?
3. Positive growth (share price & dividend)
4. Positive total return

Is there something I'm missing? Because I'm open to sharing what I have going on in order to better understand "Investing 102" I will share my most recent moves. Here is what I started with:

Stocks
Apple (AAPL)
Caterpillar (CAT)
Disney (DIS)
Harley (HOG)
Nike (NKE)

Mutual Funds
Fidelity Freedom Fund 2045 (FFFGX)
Spartan Total Market Index Investor Class (FSTMX)
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund (VGTSX)

Here is what I now have:

Stocks
Apple (AAPL)
Caterpillar (CAT)
Disney (DIS)
Nike (NKE)
Pepsi (PEP)
Altria Group, Inc. (MO)
Consolidated Edison, Inc. (ED)

Mutual Funds
Spartan Total Market Investor Class (FSTMX)

I sold Harley because I wasn't happy with its performance. It sort of just stayed where it was at and I replaced it with Pepsi, Altria Group & Consolidated Edison. I also dumped the Fidelity Freedom Fund because I just couldn't wrap my head around the idea that I had to pay Fidelity to invest money back with Fidelity. And last, I dumped the Vangaurd Total International Stock Index Fund because of its lackluster performance.

Doing this also gave me the opportunity to put my newly acquired information to the test. I will say I'm happy with the performance so far and know that this is a marathon, not a sprint so I look forward to the future and its possibilities.