S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 278 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in S&P Global were worth $10,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in S&P Global during the first quarter worth approximately $351,774,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in S&P Global by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,502,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,423,762,000 after purchasing an additional 616,732 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in S&P Global by 352.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 463,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,669,000 after purchasing an additional 360,909 shares during the last quarter. Third Point LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the first quarter worth approximately $142,526,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its position in S&P Global by 348.2% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 336,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $148,284,000 after purchasing an additional 261,526 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other S&P Global news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total transaction of $3,687,567.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other S&P Global news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total value of $3,385,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,912 shares in the company, valued at $74,915,443.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total transaction of $3,687,567.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,618,662.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $548.18.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE SPGI opened at $519.65 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $528.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $162.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $497.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $453.74.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.81%.

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.