Avestar Capital LLC Grows Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,581,580,000 after buying an additional 292,436 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,473,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,332,016,000 after acquiring an additional 113,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,081,830,000 after acquiring an additional 369,598 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 1.1% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,713,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,401,909,000 after purchasing an additional 28,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,936,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,000,536,000 after purchasing an additional 26,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.8 %

SPGI opened at $530.93 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $506.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $506.53. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $542.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $164.75 billion, a PE ratio of 46.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on SPGI shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $564.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $586.85.

S&P Global 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.