UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Has $16.82 Million Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 777 shares during the period. S&P Global comprises about 1.1% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $16,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $300,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 243,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,373,000 after purchasing an additional 3,801 shares during the period. Keystone Investors PTE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,055,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 958 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 10,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,171,000 after buying an additional 1,666 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:SPGI opened at $513.83 on Wednesday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $514.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $510.33. 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 firm has a market cap of $158.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

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

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.86.

About S&P Global

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.