Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. Buys 29,036 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 532,572 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,036 shares during the quarter. S&P Global makes up about 3.9% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned about 0.17% of S&P Global worth $275,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in S&P Global during the first quarter worth approximately $351,774,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $241,274,000 after buying an additional 466,757 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 352.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 463,383 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $206,669,000 after buying an additional 360,909 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter valued at approximately $142,526,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 13.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,516,811 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,115,697,000 after buying an additional 298,645 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on S&P Global from $540.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $571.31.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of SPGI traded down $7.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $503.29. 1,187,616 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,209,144. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $401.79 and a 1 year high of $533.29. The firm's fifty day moving average is $510.47 and its 200-day moving average is $478.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.18.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.25 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global's payout ratio 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.