C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. Boosts Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 7,666.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 699 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,725,084,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in 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 worth $308,525,000 after acquiring an additional 618,620 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $144,091,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 3.4% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 292,436 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI stock opened at $502.33 on Monday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $515.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $510.10. The stock has a market cap of $157.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (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 period last year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on 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. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

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.