14,349 Shares in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Acquired by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 14,349 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,146,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Flossbach Von Storch SE grew its position in S&P Global by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 724,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $360,805,000 after acquiring an additional 8,549 shares during the last quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 7,933 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,951,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its position in S&P Global by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,004,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in S&P Global by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 172,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $85,828,000 after buying an additional 17,066 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI opened at $533.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $164.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $510.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $509.03. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued 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 return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 29.47%.

About S&P Global

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.