S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Acquired by First Financial Bankshares Inc

First Financial Bankshares Inc grew its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,255 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $14,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Headinvest LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 2.0% in the third quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. EWA LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 498 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 674 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SPGI shares. UBS Group upped their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $490.26 on Wednesday. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $513.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $510.73. The company has a market cap of $150.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. Analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

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.