First Foundation Advisors Has $4.59 Million Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

First Foundation Advisors raised its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in S&P Global were worth $4,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Human Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 131.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 700.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SPGI. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $595.14.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI opened at $462.48 on Thursday. 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $507.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $506.94. The stock has a market cap of $145.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26.

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 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 in the prior year, the company earned $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.09%.

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.