S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Bought by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 545,095 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,636 shares during the quarter. S&P Global comprises about 1.3% of Rathbones Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $271,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 658,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,632,000 after purchasing an additional 225,370 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 12.6% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,198,000 after buying an additional 3,093 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,980,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 37,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,799,000 after acquiring an additional 6,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth $27,170,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $451.47 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $513.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $509.15. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $405.23 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $141.69 billion, a PE ratio of 36.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. Analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change 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 0.85%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of 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. UBS Group increased their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.