Xponance Inc. Increases Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 49,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $24,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in S&P Global by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,581,580,000 after acquiring an additional 292,436 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,473,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,332,016,000 after buying an additional 113,146 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,081,830,000 after buying an additional 369,598 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,713,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,401,909,000 after purchasing an additional 28,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,345,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,162,979,000 after purchasing an additional 145,434 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI opened at $494.38 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $513.56 and a 200 day moving average of $510.89. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $152.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.03, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is 31.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

About S&P Global

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.