Kanawha Capital Management LLC Purchases 1,187 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 10.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,827 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC's holdings in S&P Global were worth $6,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter worth about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in S&P Global by 77.1% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 94.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of SPGI stock traded up $3.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $543.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,744,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,340,320. The company has a market cap of $168.52 billion, a PE ratio of 47.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $507.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $507.77. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global's payout ratio is presently 32.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SPGI shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup started coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $590.23.

About S&P Global

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.