Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Purchases 65 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 921 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter worth $31,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its position 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. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in S&P Global by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $533.05 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $510.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $509.03. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $545.39. The company has a market cap of $164.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a PEG ratio of 2.44 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.47%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SPGI. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer cut their target price on 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.23.

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.