NS Partners Ltd Grows Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• NS Partners Ltd has increased its holdings in S&P Global Inc. by 0.8%, now owning 84,770 shares valued at approximately $43 million, making it the firm's 13th largest holding.
• Several institutional investors have recently acquired stakes in S&P Global, contributing to over 87% ownership of the company's stock by such entities.
• S&P Global reported earnings of $4.43 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, reflecting a 0.7% yield.

NS Partners Ltd lifted its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 84,770 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 645 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up 1.9% of NS Partners Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. NS Partners Ltd's holdings in S&P Global were worth $43,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,176 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,582,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in S&P Global by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 74,479 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,413 shares during the period. GHE LLC boosted its stake in S&P Global by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 13,504 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,725,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,902,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 161.7% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 2,580 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 1,594 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE SPGI traded down $2.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $556.99. 820,714 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,181,274. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $525.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $511.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $427.14 and a 12-month high of $566.42. The firm has a market cap of $170.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.85, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.19.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.04 earnings per share. S&P Global's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPGI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on S&P Global from $604.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on S&P Global from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Argus upgraded S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on S&P Global from $632.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.69.

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.