Advisors Capital Management LLC Increases Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,593 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in S&P Global by 131.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 700.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SPGI. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho began coverage on S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $595.14.

S&P Global Stock Up 1.4 %

SPGI opened at $471.68 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $545.39. The company has a market cap of $148.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $503.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $505.85.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

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.