Harris Associates L P Boosts Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 173,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,939,000 after buying an additional 12,719 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 605.7% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 13,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,882,000 after acquiring an additional 11,435 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth about $478,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,411,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 2,112.9% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 82,962 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,870,000 after buying an additional 79,213 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $522.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.28 billion, a PE ratio of 46.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $533.29. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $509.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $485.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James lowered shares of S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $571.31.

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.