Flputnam Investment Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 13.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,579,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,769,787,000 after acquiring an additional 881,215 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 8.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,658,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,067,807,000 after acquiring an additional 428,737 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 39.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,727,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,097 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at $1,112,935,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 22.7% in the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,881,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,155,057,000 after buying an additional 533,417 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total transaction of $2,548,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $408.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $338.92 and a 52-week high of $461.16. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $426.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $415.29. The firm has a market cap of $130.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.02). S&P Global had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. S&P Global’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 44.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SPGI. Raymond James raised their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Barclays raised their price target on S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $464.22.

S&P Global Company 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.