Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 25.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in S&P Global by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $215,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in S&P Global by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in S&P Global by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SPGI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price objective on S&P Global from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $535.25.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI traded down $6.36 on Friday, hitting $510.64. 1,037,683 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,232,332. 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 price is $486.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $448.74. The firm has a market cap of $159.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.25, a P/E/G 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.

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 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 firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. S&P Global’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend 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 40.81%.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $245,775.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,496,816.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 shares were 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 $715,205.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 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 transaction of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,496,816.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.