Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 51,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 864 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $25,639,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 700.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $486.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $149.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $545.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $513.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $510.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPGI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

S&P Global Company 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.