833 Shares in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Bought by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 833 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the first quarter worth $28,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its position in S&P Global by 131.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,619,016.33. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $527.05 on Monday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $427.14 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The company has a market cap of $161.65 billion, a PE ratio of 41.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $515.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $505.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SPGI. Argus upgraded shares of S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $596.79.

About S&P Global

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.