• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, July 3, 2013

Nielsen has joined the S&P 500, an index that tracks share values of large, widely held public companies. Nielsen replaces Sprint Nextel, which was dropped as more than 50% of its shares are no longer expected to be available to the public following an acquisition.

Nielsen has a market cap of $12.7 billion, above the minimum $4 billion required to be on the index, which many feel is a solid reflection of the health of the U.S. economy and a proxy for the strength of the stock market.

Selection of stocks to be included in the index is made by analysts and others who form a committee at Standard & Poor’s. Stocks included on the S&P 500 come from a diversity of industries.

There is some thought that stocks on the S&P receive a boost because investors buy S&P 500 index funds.

Nielsen shares have moved between $30 and $36 since its December announcement that it hoped to acquire Arbitron. The government is still evaluating the deal, and there hasn’t been much movement in the share price this week. It was trading down slightly in midday trading Wednesday.