Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Takes Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $960,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SPGI. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,589,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,273,264,000 after purchasing an additional 116,208 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $1,725,084,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in S&P Global by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,631,568,000 after buying an additional 525,347 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,071,407 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,653,000 after acquiring an additional 357,790 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,184,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,087,853,000 after purchasing an additional 224,294 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,131 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,016.33. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $587.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of S&P Global from $618.00 to $565.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $596.79.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI opened at $529.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $516.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $505.69. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $427.14 and a twelve month high of $545.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.34 billion, a PE ratio of 41.74, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.19.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.01 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

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