S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Ceera Investments LLC

Ceera Investments LLC decreased its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. S&P Global comprises approximately 1.2% of Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Ceera Investments LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the second quarter valued at $31,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its stake in S&P Global by 49.0% during the second quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.2 %

S&P Global stock traded down $6.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $510.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,037,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,332. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $340.49 and a 52-week high of $521.50. The company has a market cap of $159.78 billion, a PE ratio of 57.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $486.64 and its 200 day moving average is $448.58.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 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 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total transaction of $3,687,567.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at $7,618,662.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other S&P Global news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total value of $3,687,567.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at $7,618,662.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group upped their price target on S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on S&P Global from $530.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $535.25.

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, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.