Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Acquires New Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 446 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in S&P Global by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,793,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,464,951,000 after buying an additional 291,712 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,826,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,665,000 after buying an additional 29,227 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in S&P Global by 13.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,516,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,115,697,000 after purchasing an additional 298,645 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 1.4% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,461,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $651,682,000 after purchasing an additional 20,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 0.6% in the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,458,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,366,000 after acquiring an additional 8,435 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $507.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $511.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $476.41. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $392.69 and a 12 month high of $533.29. The company has a market capitalization of $157.43 billion, a PE ratio of 44.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. Analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.25 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America raised their price objective on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James cut S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $571.31.

S&P Global Company Profile

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.