Morgan Stanley Boosts S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target to $595.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $587.00 to $595.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider's stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $593.57.

S&P Global Stock Performance

S&P Global stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $530.03. The stock had a trading volume of 872,582 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,856. The firm's fifty day moving average is $512.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $504.53. The company has a market capitalization of $162.56 billion, a PE ratio of 41.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global has a 52-week low of $427.14 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.01 earnings per share. S&P Global's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,131 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,016.33. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of S&P Global

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPGI. Norges Bank bought a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $1,725,084,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in S&P Global in the first quarter worth about $1,103,665,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 60,982.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,139,101 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,086,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135,599 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in S&P Global by 70.1% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,627,276 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $826,819,000 after purchasing an additional 670,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in S&P Global by 26.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,947,239 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,497,493,000 after purchasing an additional 614,809 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.