S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 173,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,719 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of S&P Global worth $89,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 605.7% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 13,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,882,000 after purchasing an additional 11,435 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $478,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 48.6% in the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,411,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 2,112.9% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 82,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,870,000 after purchasing an additional 79,213 shares during the period. Finally, Atom Investors LP grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 193.1% in the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 12,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,374,000 after purchasing an additional 8,128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $571.31.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $517.94 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $509.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.85. The company has a market capitalization of $160.72 billion, a PE ratio of 45.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $533.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

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 15.24 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 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.13%.

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.