S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Bought by Values First Advisors Inc.

Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 223.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares during the period. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 1.4% in the third quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 498 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fullcircle Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $872,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $540.80 on Wednesday. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $542.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $506.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $506.36. The company has a market cap of $167.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.73, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 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. 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 0.71%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is 32.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPGI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup began coverage on 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on S&P Global from $570.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $564.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $584.54.

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.