National Pension Service Has $312.32 Million Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 627,111 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,285 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $312,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in S&P Global by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 5,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,492,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Kirtland Hills Capital Management LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Longbow Finance SA grew its position in S&P Global by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Longbow Finance SA now owns 10,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,192,000 after purchasing an additional 494 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in S&P Global by 29.0% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,379 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,169,000 after purchasing an additional 2,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 41,988 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,911,000 after buying an additional 1,423 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $533.80 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 company has a market capitalization of $164.30 billion, a PE ratio of 43.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $511.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $510.09.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

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.