Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 1,982 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $9,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its stake in S&P Global by 77.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $501.70 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $504.77 and its 200-day moving average is $500.39. The stock has a market cap of $155.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $533.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The company’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SPGI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $570.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $583.62.

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.