First Bank & Trust Raises Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

First Bank & Trust increased its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,961,000 after acquiring an additional 685 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in S&P Global by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 172,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $85,828,000 after acquiring an additional 17,066 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd grew its position in S&P Global by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 98,423 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,018,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Freedom Day Solutions LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 7,630 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,800,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 277.4% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 5,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,840,000 after acquiring an additional 4,192 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $542.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $167.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.94, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $407.69 and a 12-month high of $545.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $509.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $508.41.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. 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 yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SPGI. Citigroup started coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Company Profile

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.