Channing Global Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Channing Global Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 43.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the quarter. S&P Global comprises 1.1% of Channing Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Channing Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 163.5% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 224 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at $216,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at $286,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at $263,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Up 4.9 %

S&P Global stock opened at $540.80 on Wednesday. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $542.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $167.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.73, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $506.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $506.36.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 32.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SPGI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on S&P Global from $570.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on S&P Global from $564.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $584.54.

S&P Global Company Profile

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.