Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Decreases Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP cut its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 8.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 227 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,793,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,464,951,000 after acquiring an additional 291,712 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,826,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,260,665,000 after buying an additional 29,227 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,516,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,115,697,000 after buying an additional 298,645 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,461,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $651,682,000 after buying an additional 20,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,458,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $620,366,000 after buying an additional 8,435 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI opened at $502.82 on Monday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $385.38 and a 52 week high of $533.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $156.03 billion, a PE ratio of 44.38, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $511.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $475.97.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. S&P Global’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.21 EPS. Research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.25 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, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James lowered shares of S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $571.31.

S&P Global Company 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.