Stifel Nicolaus Boosts S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target to $540.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price target boosted by Stifel Nicolaus from $535.00 to $540.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $526.73.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.9 %

SPGI opened at $486.04 on Wednesday. S&P Global has a 52 week low of $340.49 and a 52 week high of $502.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $455.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $438.81. The firm has a market cap of $152.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during 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 was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that S&P Global will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other S&P Global news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,205.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 9258 Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 9.1% during the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,899,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 765 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in S&P Global by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 154,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $69,096,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the period. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust raised its position in S&P Global by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 1,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $730,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.