Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Buys 541 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 71,024.1% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,525,000 after purchasing an additional 618,620 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in S&P Global in the third quarter worth about $224,976,000. FMR LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 6.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,081,830,000 after purchasing an additional 369,598 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $144,091,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in S&P Global by 3.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,581,580,000 after purchasing an additional 292,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SPGI. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $534.09 on Monday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The stock has a market cap of $164.39 billion, a PE ratio of 43.25, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $513.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $510.95.

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

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

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.