Renaissance Technologies LLC Cuts Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 70.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 85,600 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $15,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 1st quarter worth approximately $351,774,000. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 12.6% in the 4th 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 352.2% in the 2nd 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 period. Third Point LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 1st quarter worth approximately $142,526,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 348.2% in the 4th 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.1 %

S&P Global stock opened at $523.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $163.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.71, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.17. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $340.49 and a fifty-two week high of $528.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $499.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $455.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total value of $3,687,567.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at $7,618,662.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other S&P Global news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares in the company, valued at $715,205.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the company’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 sale, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SPGI shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $548.18.

About S&P Global

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.