American Trust Takes Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

American Trust purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SPGI. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 1,861.8% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 667 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 2nd quarter valued at about $10,189,000. Clear Rock Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 5,793 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,584,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in S&P Global by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,461,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $651,682,000 after acquiring an additional 20,624 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global by 26.5% during the second quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 788 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.9 %

S&P Global stock opened at $512.15 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $503.13 and a 200-day moving average of $459.73. The company has a market cap of $160.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.17. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $340.49 and a one year high of $528.02.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price target on S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $530.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $548.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total transaction of $3,385,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,915,443.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total transaction 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 approximately $74,915,443.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $1,327,185.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares in the company, valued at $715,205.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

S&P Global Company 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.