Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 35 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $5,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SPGI. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in S&P Global by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its holdings in S&P Global by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 101 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in S&P Global by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 2,591 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its holdings in S&P Global by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 64 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Bank & Trust grew its holdings in S&P Global by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 3,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on SPGI shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group upped 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, Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $526.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the 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 $245,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the 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 $245,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,200 shares of company stock worth $4,958,160. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded down $1.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $478.16. 1,305,865 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,264,390. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $457.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $439.31. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $340.49 and a one year high of $502.95. The company has a market cap of $149.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.81%.

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.