S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Given New $590.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $576.00 to $590.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of S&P Global from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $587.92.

S&P Global Stock Performance

S&P Global stock traded down $2.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $539.77. The company had a trading volume of 973,325 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,243. The firm has a market cap of $167.49 billion, a PE ratio of 47.64, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. S&P Global has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $507.39 and a 200 day moving average of $507.42.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global's payout ratio is 32.13%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SPGI. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

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.