S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Acquired by IFP Advisors Inc

IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SPGI. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 871,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $450,280,000 after buying an additional 92,115 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at $334,000. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at $358,000. Finally, Orrstown Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,309 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SPGI. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $533.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $164.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.22, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $511.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $510.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

About S&P Global

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.