Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Reduces Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co reduced its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 4.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 85,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,993 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $38,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SPGI. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the second quarter worth about $31,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 49.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other S&P Global news, 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 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 approximately $7,618,662.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total transaction of $3,385,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 154,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,915,443.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SPGI stock traded down $6.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $510.64. 1,037,683 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,232,332. The firm 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 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50 day moving average is $486.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $448.74. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $340.49 and a 1 year high of $521.50.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $535.25.

About S&P Global

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.