Stifel Nicolaus Boosts S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target to $540.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price objective lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $535.00 to $540.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on SPGI. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $526.73.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI opened at $486.04 on Wednesday. S&P Global has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $502.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $455.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $438.79. The company has a market cap of $152.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.49, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that S&P Global will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $1,327,185.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,205.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial grew its position in S&P Global by 49.0% during the second quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

About S&P Global

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.