Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Acquires 36 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 593 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in S&P Global by 131.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SPGI shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $555.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $618.00 to $565.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $592.71.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $501.03 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $497.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $504.09. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $153.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.57, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $427.14 and a 52 week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.