S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $462.60.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, February 9th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their target price on S&P Global from $480.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on S&P Global from $442.00 to $446.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,032,992.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 662 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in S&P Global by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. increased its holdings in S&P Global by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 101 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in S&P Global by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI opened at $425.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $133.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $422.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $418.75. S&P Global has a 1-year low of $340.49 and a 1-year high of $461.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $4.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.39 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 22.01%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 14.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.81%.

About S&P Global

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.