United Asset Strategies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:SPGI opened at $408.57 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.64, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $338.92 and a 1-year high of $461.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $426.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $415.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.02). S&P Global had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 21.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.54 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.02 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $464.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.