Morton Community Bank Acquires 40 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Morton Community Bank raised its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $3,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Headinvest LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 1.3% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in S&P Global by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 674 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $497.35 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $515.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $511.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.23.

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.