S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target Raised to $600.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $595.00 to $600.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on SPGI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $587.92.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI stock opened at $539.77 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $166.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. S&P Global has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $506.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $506.78.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that S&P Global will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On S&P Global

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $2,844,000. Keel Point LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in S&P Global by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 320,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $159,766,000 after acquiring an additional 46,303 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $1,379,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

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.