S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats: Top 5 Among Hedge Funds

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 97

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) is a New York-based private banking company. Argus raised its price target on the stock to $400 in February with a Buy rating on the shares. The firm noted that SPGI has outperformed the market over the past quarter and it also sees the company’s double-digit earnings growth this year.

On January 25, S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.90 per share, consistent with its previous dividend. 2022 marked the company’s 50th consecutive year of dividend growth, which makes it one of the top dividend stocks among hedge funds. Moreover, it returned nearly $1 billion to shareholders in dividends through FY22. The stock has a dividend yield of 1.05%, as of February 24.

As of the close of Q4 2022, 97 hedge funds in Insider Monkey’s database reported having stakes in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI), up from 90 in the previous quarter. These stakes have a total value of over $7.8 billion. TCI Fund Management was the company’s leading stakeholder in Q4.

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.”

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