S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target Raised to $640.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $610.00 to $640.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on SPGI. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $536.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.05 billion, a PE ratio of 43.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $509.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $508.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. S&P Global has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its 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 return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On S&P Global

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in S&P Global by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,984 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the period. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000. Cache Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $393,000. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,212,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $100,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

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.