Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 360,793 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,944 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of S&P Global worth $179,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 3.4% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 292,436 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,473,774 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,332,016,000 after buying an additional 113,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in 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 worth $3,081,830,000 after buying an additional 369,598 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,713,617 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,401,909,000 after buying an additional 28,458 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,936,697 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,000,536,000 after buying an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded down $2.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $533.05. 1,335,113 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,359,665. The company's 50-day moving average is $510.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $509.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $164.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.16, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SPGI. Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $590.23.

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.