Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $25,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in S&P Global by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 658,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,632,000 after buying an additional 225,370 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,980,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,170,000. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $486.67 on Monday. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.41, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $513.56 and a 200 day moving average of $510.99.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPGI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.86.

S&P Global Company 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.