Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Stock Price

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $570.00 to $595.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James lowered shares of S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on S&P Global from $540.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $573.23.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI opened at $513.00 on Thursday. S&P Global has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $533.29. 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 has a market capitalization of $159.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $509.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $489.88.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.25. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,170,000. American Trust boosted its stake in S&P Global by 76.2% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 2,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its position in S&P Global by 0.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 27,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,332,000 after buying an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 78.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 30,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,510,000 after acquiring an additional 13,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 102.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 6,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,318,000 after acquiring an additional 3,251 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.