Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Boosts Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 2,274.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,031 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 75,702 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.'s holdings in S&P Global were worth $34,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 662 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 714 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,356 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 101 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,487 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $416.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,221,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,368,144. The stock has a market cap of $130.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.14. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $461.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $423.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $418.76.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.68 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.39 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 22.01%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.1 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 29th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on S&P Global from $480.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $462.60.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In other news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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