Americana Partners LLC Invests $6.97 Million in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Americana Partners LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,987 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,966,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth about $142,000. Valmark Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth about $320,000. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Blue Zone Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,253 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,604,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 5,565 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,772,000 after purchasing an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its position in S&P Global by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,951 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $997,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SPGI shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $590.23.

S&P Global Price Performance

S&P Global stock traded down $6.49 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $536.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,308,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,360,406. The company has a market capitalization of $165.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $407.69 and a 12-month high of $545.39. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $509.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $508.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.47%.

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.