Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 15,456 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 365,737 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,456 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of S&P Global worth $188,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 174,815.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 467,024 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $241,274,000 after buying an additional 466,757 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,976,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,081,830,000 after acquiring an additional 369,598 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in S&P Global by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,516,811 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,115,697,000 after acquiring an additional 298,645 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in S&P Global by 3.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,581,580,000 after purchasing an additional 292,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SPGI. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on S&P Global in a report on Friday. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on S&P Global from $570.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $575.14.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI traded up $5.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $491.81. 2,491,332 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,219,247. The firm has a market cap of $152.61 billion, a PE ratio of 43.41, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $533.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $507.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $492.26.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.25. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.21 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.13%.

About S&P Global

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.