First Merchants Corp Grows Stake in S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

First Merchants Corp increased its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,733 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $8,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 74 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in S&P Global by 171.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 76 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $565.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore set a $625.00 price target on shares of S&P Global and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of S&P Global from $657.00 to $551.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on S&P Global from $620.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on S&P Global from $620.00 to $560.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $563.53.

S&P Global Price Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $407.46 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $381.61 and a 12-month high of $579.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $455.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $486.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The business services provider reported $4.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.32 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.89 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 29.16% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.77 EPS. S&P Global has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.400-19.650 EPS. Equities analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.97 dividend. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 26.48%.

About S&P Global

S&P Global is a leading provider of financial information, analytics and benchmark indices that serve investors, issuers, corporations and public institutions worldwide. The company operates through well-known businesses that include credit ratings, market intelligence and index licensing, as well as commodity and energy information services. Its products and services are used to assess creditworthiness, inform investment decisions, construct and track benchmark portfolios, and support risk and commodity market analysis.

S&P Global Ratings provides independent credit ratings, research and data used by fixed income investors and capital market participants to evaluate issuer and transaction risk.