Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Buys 2,488 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 199.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,488 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in S&P Global by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $522.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.27, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $489.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $503.11. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $419.49 and a 52-week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. S&P Global’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 30.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on SPGI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on S&P Global from $555.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America started coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on S&P Global from $607.00 to $627.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $592.71.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,131 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,016.33. This represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.