Bank of Nova Scotia Has $117.35 Million Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 129.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 235,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 133,018 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $117,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Rathbones Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 545,095 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,474,000 after buying an additional 43,636 shares during the last quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,767,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 2,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,259,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 3,720 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI opened at $437.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $137.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $512.03 and its 200-day moving average is $508.54.

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 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 previous year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Mizuho assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.86.

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.