Generali Investments Management Co LLC Takes $604,000 Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Generali Investments Management Co LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $604,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake 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 valued at $4,581,580,000 after acquiring an additional 292,436 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,473,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,332,016,000 after acquiring an additional 113,146 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in S&P Global by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,081,830,000 after buying an additional 369,598 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in S&P Global by 1.1% during the 3rd 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 worth $1,401,909,000 after buying an additional 28,458 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi increased its position in S&P Global by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,345,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,162,979,000 after buying an additional 145,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on SPGI. UBS Group increased their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.86.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $490.26 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $513.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $510.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.90 billion, a PE ratio of 39.70, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share 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 period last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.09%.

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.