S&P Global Inc. $SPGI Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 598,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,092 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $291,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SPGI. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 74,797 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,677 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc raised its holdings in S&P Global by 15.9% during the third quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 838 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in S&P Global by 24.9% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 983 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $479,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in S&P Global by 3.3% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 938,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $456,656,000 after purchasing an additional 30,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global by 1.4% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,635,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on S&P Global from $629.00 to $632.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets set a $546.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, November 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $640.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $620.00 to $627.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and sixteen have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $615.64.

S&P Global Price Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $464.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $427.14 and a 12-month high of $579.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $518.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $516.57.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.97 per share. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.93%.

S&P Global Company Profile

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.