Brokerages Set S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) PT at $592.71

Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $592.71.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on S&P Global from $555.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $522.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $489.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $503.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $160.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.27, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. S&P Global has a 12 month low of $419.49 and a 12 month high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.16%.

Insider Activity

In other S&P Global news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at $1,725,084,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,103,665,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 60,982.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,139,101 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,086,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135,599 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $527,207,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 70.1% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,627,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $826,819,000 after buying an additional 670,392 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

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.