Fayez Sarofim & Co Buys 34,808 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Fayez Sarofim & Co lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,562,279 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 34,808 shares during the quarter. S&P Global comprises approximately 1.9% of Fayez Sarofim & Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned about 0.50% of S&P Global worth $783,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SPGI. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 700.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com lowered S&P Global from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $591.86.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE SPGI traded up $4.42 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $470.84. 1,232,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,266. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business's 50-day moving average is $494.80 and its 200-day moving average is $503.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $545.39.

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 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 posted $3.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.