Principal Securities Inc. Grows Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 969 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in S&P Global by 77.1% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 94.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SPGI opened at $543.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $507.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $507.77. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.93, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 32.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SPGI shares. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.