Rathbones Group PLC Acquires 16,655 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 492,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,655 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up about 1.2% of Rathbones Group PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $219,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth $1,652,862,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the first quarter worth about $351,774,000. Capital International Investors raised its position 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 valued at $2,423,762,000 after buying an additional 616,732 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 352.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 360,909 shares during the period. Finally, Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 1st quarter worth approximately $142,526,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the business’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 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 154,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,915,443.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $519.45 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $340.49 and a 52 week high of $524.14. The firm has a market cap of $162.59 billion, a PE ratio of 58.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $493.49 and its 200-day moving average is $451.76.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 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 firm 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 posted $3.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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. Two equities research 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average 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.