HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,532 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,730 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of S&P Global worth $87,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in S&P Global by 71,024.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,525,000 after buying an additional 618,620 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,976,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in S&P Global by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,081,830,000 after buying an additional 369,598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $144,091,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $478.74 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $147.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $514.13 and a 200-day moving average of $511.23.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut 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 report on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

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.