S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target Raised to $615.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price target boosted by Morgan Stanley from $595.00 to $615.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Bank of America started coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $611.69.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.1%

SPGI opened at $544.86 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $520.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $509.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $167.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.91, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global has a one year low of $427.14 and a one year high of $558.86.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 27.30%. S&P Global’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.04 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in S&P Global by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,779,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,130,711,000 after acquiring an additional 108,729 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in S&P Global by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,631,568,000 after acquiring an additional 525,347 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 3.7% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,186,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,618,934,000 after acquiring an additional 114,843 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 70,734.1% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,168,411 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,670,671,000 after acquiring an additional 3,163,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,071,407 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,653,000 after acquiring an additional 357,790 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.