Bank of Montreal Can Increases Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 5.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 885,444 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,076 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.29% of S&P Global worth $453,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter worth about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sachetta LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 103.4% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on SPGI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James cut S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $571.31.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI traded up $2.72 during trading on Monday, reaching $517.18. The stock had a trading volume of 127,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,206,400. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.48 billion, a PE ratio of 45.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.18. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $533.29. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $509.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $482.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.24 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is 32.13%.

About S&P Global

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.