Hilltop Holdings Inc. Acquires 92 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,552 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $3,327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $1,652,862,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 13.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,579,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,769,787,000 after acquiring an additional 881,215 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 8.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,658,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,067,807,000 after acquiring an additional 428,737 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 42.7% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,033,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $377,630,000 after acquiring an additional 309,123 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in S&P Global by 35.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,179,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $430,827,000 after purchasing an additional 308,683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI stock traded up $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $438.24. 661,893 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,280,919. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.13 billion, a PE ratio of 49.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $424.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $427.73. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $340.49 and a 52 week high of $461.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.68 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.39 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 22.01%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.1 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 29th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SPGI. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $442.00 to $446.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $467.89.

S&P Global Profile

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.