Davidson Trust Co. Lowers Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Davidson Trust Co. cut its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 45.8% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SPGI shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $462.00.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In other news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI traded down $1.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $411.90. 362,682 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,297,391. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $338.92 and a 52-week high of $461.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $425.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $415.25. The company has a market cap of $131.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 21.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.08 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 44.23%.

S&P Global 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.