S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd cut its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,281,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 29,447 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up 1.7% of Ninety One UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Ninety One UK Ltd owned about 0.40% of S&P Global worth $564,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,112,935,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 11,089.7% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,230,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $914,794,000 after buying an additional 2,210,296 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in S&P Global by 49.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,318,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,446,412,000 after buying an additional 1,437,116 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in S&P Global by 39.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,727,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,100,000 after buying an additional 1,056,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 113,163.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,005,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,875,000 after buying an additional 1,004,889 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:SPGI traded down $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $410.97. The company had a trading volume of 403,113 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,299,851. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $425.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $415.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.07, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.15. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $338.92 and a one year high of $461.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 21.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.03 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 Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 44.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other S&P Global news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total transaction of $2,548,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,530 shares in the company, valued at $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SPGI. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $464.22.

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.