NS Partners Ltd Grows Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

NS Partners Ltd increased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,506 shares during the quarter. S&P Global makes up about 1.9% of NS Partners Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $44,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in S&P Global during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 103.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $502.31 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $509.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $480.77. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.53 and a 52 week high of $533.29. The company has a market capitalization of $155.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.33, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on SPGI shares. Barclays lifted their target price on S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Raymond James lowered S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $564.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $571.31.

S&P Global Company Profile

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.