LGT Group Foundation Buys 9,847 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• LGT Group Foundation significantly increased its stake in S&P Global Inc. by 355.1%, acquiring an additional 9,847 shares, bringing its total ownership to 12,620 shares valued at approximately $6.41 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Northern Trust Corp, also raised their holdings in S&P Global, with institutional ownership now at 87.17% of the company's stock.
• Analysts have upgraded their target prices for S&P Global, with current estimates ranging from $592 to $625, and the consensus rating stands at a "Moderate Buy."

LGT Group Foundation raised its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 355.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,620 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,847 shares during the quarter. LGT Group Foundation's holdings in S&P Global were worth $6,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,779,003 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,130,711,000 after purchasing an additional 108,729 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,631,568,000 after purchasing an additional 525,347 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,071,407 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,529,653,000 after purchasing an additional 357,790 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in S&P Global by 3.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,762,187 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,403,468,000 after acquiring an additional 97,324 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,184,312 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,087,853,000 after acquiring an additional 224,294 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SPGI shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $604.00 to $621.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.69.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $559.28 on Wednesday. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $427.14 and a 12 month high of $566.42. The company's 50-day moving average price is $527.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $511.67. The firm has a market cap of $170.75 billion, a PE ratio of 43.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.25. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.30% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.04 earnings per share. S&P Global's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.54%.

S&P Global 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.

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