S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Purchased by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 788 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $351,774,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings 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 valued at $2,423,762,000 after purchasing an additional 616,732 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 352.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 463,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $206,669,000 after purchasing an additional 360,909 shares during the period. Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth about $142,526,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 13.5% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,516,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,115,697,000 after purchasing an additional 298,645 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI opened at $512.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $503.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $459.73. The stock has a market cap of $160.25 billion, a PE ratio of 57.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.17. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $340.49 and a 1-year 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.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis 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 40.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SPGI. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on S&P Global from $530.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,205.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,915,443.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.