S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Acquired by Freestone Capital Holdings LLC

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $5,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Headinvest LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 2.0% in the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 4.2% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 1.3% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in S&P Global by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in S&P Global by 21.0% in the third quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 127 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on SPGI shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Stock Up 1.3 %

SPGI stock opened at $523.27 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $545.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $161.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.37, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $514.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $511.46.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

S&P Global Profile

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.