CCLA Investment Management Boosts Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

CCLA Investment Management grew its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 317,942 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,181 shares during the quarter. S&P Global accounts for about 2.2% of CCLA Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. CCLA Investment Management’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $142,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 103.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. First Pacific Financial increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 49.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE SPGI opened at $522.41 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $496.16 and its 200 day moving average is $453.28. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $528.02. The stock has a market cap of $163.46 billion, a PE ratio of 58.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.17.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. Research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SPGI. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the 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 directly owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total value of $3,385,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 154,912 shares in the company, valued at $74,915,443.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.