World Investment Advisors Purchases 1,689 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,689 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in S&P Global were worth $9,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 3.2% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new position in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth about $478,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 173,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,939,000 after purchasing an additional 12,719 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 289,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,538,000 after purchasing an additional 13,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its holdings in S&P Global by 48.9% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 10,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,509,000 after buying an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $514.56 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $515.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $509.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.49 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.