Barclays Raises S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target to $550.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $520.00 to $550.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

SPGI has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on S&P Global from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $526.73.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE SPGI opened at $486.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. S&P Global has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $502.95. The company has a market capitalization of $152.13 billion, a PE ratio of 54.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $455.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $438.79.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. S&P Global’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that S&P Global will post 14.58 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In related news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,205.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 49.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About S&P Global

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.