Avestar Capital LLC Grows Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 7.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in S&P Global by 13.7% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 2,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,282,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covington Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 31,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,241,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,520,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,081,830,000 after acquiring an additional 369,598 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $229,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $521.96 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $533.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $509.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $483.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.18.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.21 EPS. S&P Global’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SPGI shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on S&P Global from $564.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $571.31.

S&P Global Profile

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.