Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Stock Price

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) had its price target lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $627.00 to $632.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on SPGI. Mizuho started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on S&P Global from $555.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $593.93.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $531.02 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $512.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $504.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global has a 12 month low of $427.14 and a 12 month high of $545.39. The company has a market capitalization of $162.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.19.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that S&P Global will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 30.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,131 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On S&P Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPGI. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth $26,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

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.