Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 15.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 31,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,160 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $16,396,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 103.4% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $514.37 on Friday. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $533.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $509.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $481.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SPGI shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $564.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on S&P Global from $540.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $571.31.

S&P Global 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.