S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $592.71.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SPGI. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $607.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of S&P Global from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

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 transaction of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Hawaiian Bank increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 13.8% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 3,394 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,724,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 103.3% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 61 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the first quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the first quarter valued at approximately $86,015,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:SPGI opened at $519.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.36 billion, a PE ratio of 42.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $492.79 and a 200-day moving average of $504.25. S&P Global has a 52 week low of $425.49 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.01 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is 30.16%.

About S&P Global

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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