S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

SPGI has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.23.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $533.05 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $510.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $509.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The company has a market cap of $164.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.16, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 29.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Trust lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. American Trust now owns 2,612 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,466,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Aurdan Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $273,000. Forum Financial Management LP increased its holdings in S&P Global by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbeam Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $69,000. 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.