LPL Financial LLC Buys 16,761 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 270,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,761 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $134,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,525,000 after purchasing an additional 618,620 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,081,830,000 after purchasing an additional 369,598 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,091,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in S&P Global by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,581,580,000 after buying an additional 292,436 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Up 1.2 %

S&P Global stock opened at $504.00 on Tuesday. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $514.28 and a 200 day moving average of $510.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $155.13 billion, a PE ratio of 40.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS 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 quarter last year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.86.

S&P Global Company 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.