Eastern Bank Purchases 16,375 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Eastern Bank raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 50.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,375 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $25,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First National Corp MA ADV raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 0.9% during the third quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 2,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. boosted its stake in S&P Global by 25.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in S&P Global by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chatham Capital Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,007,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE:SPGI traded down $10.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $512.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 454,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,193,536. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $512.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $469.15. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $533.29. The company has a market capitalization of $160.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 40.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 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 value of $245,775.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other S&P Global news, 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 value of $245,775.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at $7,618,662.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on SPGI. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on S&P Global from $537.00 to $589.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on S&P Global from $564.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $565.17.

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.