S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Now Covered by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $599.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SPGI. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price objective on S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $552.42.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $514.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $161.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.70, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $503.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $460.11. S&P Global has a 12-month low of $340.49 and a 12-month high of $528.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. S&P Global’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that S&P Global will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In related news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $245,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $1,327,185.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $245,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,496,816.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $228,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in S&P Global by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,818,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,241,706,000 after acquiring an additional 12,644 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in S&P Global by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,773,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 28,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares during the period. Finally, Bollard Group LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 5,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 1,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.