5 Dividend Growth Stocks with the Highest Growth Rates

In this article, we discuss 5 dividend growth stocks with the highest growth rates. If you want to read our detailed analysis of dividend growers and their performance over the years, go directly to read 15 Dividend Growth Stocks with the Highest Growth Rates. 

15. S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

12-Month Dividend Growth Rate: 16.3%

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is a New York-based private banking company. In February, Credit Suisse raised its price target on the stock to $395 with an Outperform rating on the shares, highlighting the company’s active portfolio management efforts.

In Q4 2022, S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) reported revenue of nearly $3 billion, which showed a 40.7% growth from the same period last year. Through FY22, the company returned over $1 billion to shareholders in dividends.

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.97%, as of February 13. The company has been consistently raising its dividends for the past 50 years and in the past year, its payout grew by 16.3%.

As of the close of Q3 2022, 90 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned stakes in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI), compared with 84 in the previous quarter. These stakes have a collective value of $6.2 billion. TCI Fund Management was the company’s largest stakeholder in Q3.

Andvari Associated mentioned S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) in its Q4 2022 investor letter. Here is what the firm has to say:

“S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is another company we own that is part of a duopoly in the business of credit rating. S&P and Moody’s have roughly equal market shares and rate more than 90% of all bonds worldwide. The service provides high value for the cost. A company that chooses to issue debt without a rating will pay an interest rate that could be higher by half of a percent. The cost of a higher interest rate far exceeds any savings gained by not using the services of S&P.

We think of S&P as a toll road that earns fees from its customers in exchange for cost-effective access to capital. As such, the company has extraordinary margins and pricing power and requires little of its own capital to grow. Even after fully reinvesting in its business, S&P still has an excess of cash. In 2021, S&P produced $3.5 billion of free cash from $8.3 billion of revenues. The company returns the majority of its free cash to investors in the form of dividends and share repurchases.”