Stifel Nicolaus Increases S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target to $560.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price objective boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $540.00 to $560.00 in a report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Bank of America increased their price objective on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $571.31.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI stock opened at $487.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $513.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $471.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $152.46 billion, a PE ratio of 54.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.18. S&P Global has a 1 year low of $340.49 and a 1 year high of $533.29.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 14.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,496,816.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other S&P Global news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at $6,496,816.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total value of $3,385,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 154,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,915,443.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.5% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 2.4% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,987 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,696,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth about $32,721,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth about $5,339,000. Finally, Abundance Wealth Counselors grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.2% during the first quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 3,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Company Profile

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.