S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Stake Lowered by Northcape Capital Pty Ltd

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd decreased its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 20.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,520 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,146 shares during the period. S&P Global comprises 0.4% of Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Northcape Capital Pty Ltd’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $3,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth about $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. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in S&P Global by 45.8% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total transaction of $2,548,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SPGI. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $446.25.

S&P Global Stock Performance

S&P Global stock traded up $3.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $426.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 589,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,325,725. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $433.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $410.55. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $329.46 and a 1-year high of $461.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $136.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.37, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.15.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 21.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were given a $0.91 dividend. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend 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, and S&P Dow Jones Indices segments.