Ascent Group LLC Increases Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 429 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $4,466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 131.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,131 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,016.33. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on S&P Global from $618.00 to $565.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on S&P Global from $607.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Mizuho assumed coverage on S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $592.71.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $510.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $156.53 billion, a PE ratio of 41.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The business’s fifty day moving average is $490.91 and its 200 day moving average is $503.58. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $419.49 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. S&P Global’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

S&P Global Profile

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.