S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Acquired by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 36.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 969 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

S&P Global Trading Up 0.6 %

SPGI opened at $543.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $168.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $507.77.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its 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 return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. On average, equities 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on SPGI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

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.