Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 7,780 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 25.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,964 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,780 shares during the period. S&P Global comprises about 0.7% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $16,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 2.5% in the second quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its position in S&P Global by 0.5% during the second quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 2.4% in the second quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 955 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 2.3% in the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 960 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 1.0% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $951,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the business’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 value of $3,687,567.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the company’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 $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,205.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SPGI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective 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. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $548.18.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.9 %

SPGI opened at $522.41 on Wednesday. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $340.49 and a twelve month high of $528.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $496.16 and a 200-day moving average of $453.28. The stock has a market cap of $163.46 billion, a PE ratio of 58.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.81%.

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.