Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 15,902 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 327,080 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,902 shares during the quarter. S&P Global comprises 0.6% of Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.10% of S&P Global worth $144,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,164 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,799,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 2,123 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,591 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 988 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total transaction of $2,548,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of S&P Global in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $464.22.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI traded down $0.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $408.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,058,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,318,490. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.64, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $426.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $415.29. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $338.92 and a fifty-two week high of $461.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.54 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.02 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a $0.91 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.23%.

S&P Global Profile

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.