S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Purchased by PineStone Asset Management Inc.

PineStone Asset Management Inc. increased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 418,519 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up about 2.0% of PineStone Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. PineStone Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.13% of S&P Global worth $208,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 163.5% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 224 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth about $263,000. Creative Planning grew its position in S&P Global by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,561 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,638,000 after purchasing an additional 5,913 shares during the period. Swedbank AB grew its position in S&P Global by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 871,588 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $450,280,000 after purchasing an additional 92,115 shares during the period. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on SPGI. StockNews.com raised S&P Global from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $590.23.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of SPGI stock traded down $1.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $542.61. 1,745,125 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,362,022. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.20. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $508.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $508.17. 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 released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global's payout ratio is presently 29.47%.

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.