Ballentine Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 25.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,296 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in S&P Global by 5.3% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $1,652,862,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,818,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,241,706,000 after purchasing an additional 12,644 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in S&P Global by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,624,308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,156,060,000 after purchasing an additional 279,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,467,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,086,952,000 after buying an additional 7,887 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

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 value of $3,687,567.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other S&P Global news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPGI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on S&P Global from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on S&P Global from $530.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $535.25.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of S&P Global stock traded down $6.36 during trading on Friday, reaching $510.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,037,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,332. The company has a market cap of $159.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.17. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $340.49 and a fifty-two week high of $521.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $486.64 and its 200-day moving average is $448.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. S&P Global’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

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

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.