Morgan Stanley Boosts S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target to $564.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $530.00 to $564.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays upped their price target on S&P Global from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of S&P Global to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $535.25.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $510.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $486.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $448.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.78 billion, a PE ratio of 57.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.17. S&P Global has a twelve month low of $340.49 and a twelve month high of $521.50.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is 40.81%.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other 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 transaction of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at $6,496,816.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPGI. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in S&P Global by 5.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 291,712 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $1,652,862,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,826,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,260,665,000 after acquiring an additional 29,227 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,818,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,241,706,000 after buying an additional 12,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in S&P Global by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,624,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,156,060,000 after purchasing an additional 279,633 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About S&P Global

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.