S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Purchased by First Pacific Financial

First Pacific Financial raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 49.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. First Pacific Financial’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $33,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Janney Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 17,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,678,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,403,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $618,369,000 after buying an additional 190,758 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in S&P Global by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 20,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,905,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 107.2% during the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 5,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other S&P Global news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $7,618,662.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,205.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded up $2.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $498.47. The company had a trading volume of 250,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,235,040. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $502.95. The stock has a market cap of $155.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.58, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $467.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $441.83.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPGI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $530.75.

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.