Longview Partners Guernsey LTD Lowers Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Longview Partners Guernsey LTD decreased its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,235,634 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 164,020 shares during the period. S&P Global accounts for 4.1% of Longview Partners Guernsey LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD owned about 0.39% of S&P Global worth $551,093,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 49.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In other news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the 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 $7,618,662.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at $6,496,816.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of SPGI opened at $523.72 on Friday. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $340.49 and a one year high of $528.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $499.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $454.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $163.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.17.

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

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on SPGI shares. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.