S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target Increased to $589.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $537.00 to $589.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $565.17.

S&P Global Stock Up 1.1 %

SPGI stock opened at $524.80 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $512.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $467.89. The company has a market capitalization of $164.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18. S&P Global has a 52 week low of $340.49 and a 52 week high of $533.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that S&P Global will post 14.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares in the company, valued at $715,205.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,496,816.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 1st quarter valued at $351,774,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 352.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 463,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,669,000 after buying an additional 360,909 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 1st quarter worth about $142,526,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 13.5% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 5.3% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.