Next Capital Management LLC Invests $236,000 in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Next Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 474 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SPGI. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in S&P Global by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 871,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $450,280,000 after acquiring an additional 92,115 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 3.2% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 6.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in S&P Global by 208.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 45,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,440,000 after purchasing an additional 30,679 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 6.3% in the third quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,988 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $490.26 on Wednesday. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $513.54 and its 200-day moving average is $510.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. 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 31.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho began coverage on S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.86.

S&P Global Company 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.