First Foundation Advisors Increases Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

First Foundation Advisors boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. 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 institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 138,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $68,730,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 101.0% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 3,841 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,913,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 161.7% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 2,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1,384.4% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 290,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $139,718,000 after acquiring an additional 270,930 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $462.48 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $506.94. The firm has a market cap of $145.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.96 dividend. 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 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SPGI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $595.14.

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.