Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Makes New Investment in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 478,892 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $238,503,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.16% of S&P Global as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SPGI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $1,725,084,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in S&P Global by 71,024.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $308,525,000 after buying an additional 618,620 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in S&P Global by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,631,568,000 after buying an additional 525,347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $178,858,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on S&P Global from $618.00 to $565.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus raised shares of S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $555.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $592.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $512.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,142,178 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,353,426. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $157.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company's 50-day moving average is $492.07 and its 200 day moving average is $503.86. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $419.49 and a 12-month high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. S&P Global's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.01 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.16%.

S&P Global Company Profile

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.