Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 172,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,066 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $85,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in S&P Global by 174,815.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 467,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $241,274,000 after purchasing an additional 466,757 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter worth about $224,976,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,081,830,000 after purchasing an additional 369,598 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,091,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,581,580,000 after purchasing an additional 292,436 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup began coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.23.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $542.61 on Thursday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $509.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $508.41. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The company has a market cap of $167.02 billion, a PE ratio of 43.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.