S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Research Coverage Started at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $599.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

SPGI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of S&P Global to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Raymond James cut S&P Global from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $556.58.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $512.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $504.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. S&P Global has a fifty-two week low of $340.49 and a fifty-two week high of $528.02. The company has a market cap of $160.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. S&P Global’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that S&P Global will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In related news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,205.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other S&P Global news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,205.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total transaction of $3,385,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,912 shares in the company, valued at $74,915,443.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 5.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,793,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,464,951,000 after purchasing an additional 291,712 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in S&P Global by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,826,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,260,665,000 after buying an additional 29,227 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,818,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,241,706,000 after acquiring an additional 12,644 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 13.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,516,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,115,697,000 after acquiring an additional 298,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 2.1% in the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,199,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $935,885,000 after purchasing an additional 46,131 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.