SlateStone Wealth LLC Cuts Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 15.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,880 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 339 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,176 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,582,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in S&P Global by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 74,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $37,093,000 after acquiring an additional 2,413 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 13,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,725,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $56,231,000. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI stock opened at $530.33 on Thursday. 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 cap of $162.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.66, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $519.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $508.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders 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 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SPGI shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $601.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.