Flputnam Investment Management Co. Has $1.28 Million Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. raised its stake in S&P Global by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Milestones Administradora de Recursos Ltda. now owns 4,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,064,000 after buying an additional 1,815 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in S&P Global by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,755 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,870,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in S&P Global by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in S&P Global by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 23,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,735,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 2,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI stock opened at $534.09 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $164.39 billion, a PE ratio of 43.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $513.75 and a 200-day moving average of $510.95. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $407.69 and a 12-month high of $545.39.

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

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SPGI. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

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.