Oppenheimer Raises S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Price Target to $590.00

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price target hoisted by Oppenheimer from $540.00 to $590.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on SPGI. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday. They set an outperform rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. 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 raised S&P Global to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $556.58.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI opened at $512.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18. S&P Global has a 52 week low of $340.49 and a 52 week high of $528.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $504.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $461.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. S&P Global’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that S&P Global will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total value of $3,687,567.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,618,662.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total value of $3,687,567.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,618,662.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,496,816.35. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On S&P Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in S&P Global by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 28,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,370,000 after buying an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its stake in S&P Global by 4,333.2% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 26,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,659,000 after acquiring an additional 25,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 126.3% in the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 2,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 1,234 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.