WD Rutherford LLC Acquires 365 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

WD Rutherford LLC raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 365 shares during the quarter. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $539.77 on Friday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.64, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $507.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $507.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SPGI shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of S&P Global from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $587.92.

S&P Global 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.