S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target Raised to $600.00 at Morgan Stanley

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $595.00 to $600.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on SPGI. Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $586.85.

S&P Global Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of SPGI opened at $530.93 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $506.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $506.36. S&P Global has a twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $542.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 32.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 658,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $328,632,000 after purchasing an additional 225,370 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management increased its stake in S&P Global by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 27,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,134,000 after buying an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,198,000 after buying an additional 3,093 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its position in S&P Global by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,980,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

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.