Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $49.41 Million in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 99,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $49,407,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,725,084,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,525,000 after acquiring an additional 618,620 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,091,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $451.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $141.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $513.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $509.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal 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 is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SPGI shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.86.

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.