Welch & Forbes LLC Increases Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 297.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,434 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,317 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 379.1% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 551 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Eos Management L.P. grew its stake in S&P Global by 92.2% during the 3rd quarter. Eos Management L.P. now owns 5,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,787,000 after buying an additional 2,748 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in S&P Global by 1.9% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 70,836 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $34,477,000 after buying an additional 1,288 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in S&P Global by 6.4% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $970,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE lifted its stake in S&P Global by 1.5% in the third quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE now owns 731,305 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $355,933,000 after buying an additional 10,836 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.3%

SPGI stock opened at $527.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.65 billion, a PE ratio of 38.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $518.60 and a 200-day moving average of $517.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $427.14 and a one year high of $579.05.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The business services provider reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.26 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 28.10% and a return on equity of 15.90%. The business’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect 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 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.97 per share. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 27.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SPGI. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $625.00 to $599.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $620.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $635.00 to $615.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on S&P Global from $637.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.64.

About S&P Global

S&P Global is a leading provider of financial information, analytics and benchmark indices that serve investors, issuers, corporations and public institutions worldwide. The company operates through well-known businesses that include credit ratings, market intelligence and index licensing, as well as commodity and energy information services. Its products and services are used to assess creditworthiness, inform investment decisions, construct and track benchmark portfolios, and support risk and commodity market analysis.

S&P Global Ratings provides independent credit ratings, research and data used by fixed income investors and capital market participants to evaluate issuer and transaction risk.