Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Buys 53,247 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 721,271 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 53,247 shares during the period. S&P Global accounts for approximately 1.2% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned approximately 0.23% of S&P Global worth $387,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 11.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 871,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,280,000 after acquiring an additional 92,115 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 3.2% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at about $212,000. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SPGI. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Citigroup assumed coverage on S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $497.35 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $407.69 and a 12-month high of $545.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $515.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $511.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

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.