Align Financial LLC Makes New $25.67 Million Investment in S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

Key Points

• Align Financial LLC opened a new position in S&P Global, buying 49,123 shares worth about $25.67 million in the fourth quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains very high at 87.17%, and several large investors such as Vanguard, State Street, Morgan Stanley, and Norges Bank also increased or initiated positions.
• S&P Global recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.97 per share on revenue of $4.17 billion, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $546.39.

Align Financial LLC bought a new position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 49,123 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,671,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in S&P Global by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,374,366 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,873,340,000 after purchasing an additional 117,728 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in S&P Global by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,259,690 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $7,451,971,000 after purchasing an additional 157,301 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in S&P Global by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,333,099 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,354,796,000 after purchasing an additional 263,051 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in S&P Global by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,231,644 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,033,003,000 after purchasing an additional 274,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $2,398,991,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Catherine R. Clay bought 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $431.39 per share, with a total value of $1,078,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,078,475. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martina Cheung bought 2,322 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $429.93 per share, for a total transaction of $998,297.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,830,813.74. This represents a 9.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 5,974 shares of company stock valued at $2,576,775 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SPGI. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on S&P Global from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings lowered S&P Global from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on S&P Global from $556.00 to $557.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on S&P Global from $551.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $546.39.

S&P Global Trading Down 3.6%

S&P Global stock opened at $417.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $424.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $457.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.08. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $381.61 and a 52 week high of $579.05.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 30.37%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.37 earnings per share. S&P Global has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.400-19.650 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.97 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. S&P Global's payout ratio is presently 24.56%.

S&P Global Profile

S&P Global is a leading provider of financial information, analytics and benchmark indices that serve investors, issuers, corporations and public institutions worldwide. The company operates through well-known businesses that include credit ratings, market intelligence and index licensing, as well as commodity and energy information services. Its products and services are used to assess creditworthiness, inform investment decisions, construct and track benchmark portfolios, and support risk and commodity market analysis.

S&P Global Ratings provides independent credit ratings, research and data used by fixed income investors and capital market participants to evaluate issuer and transaction risk.

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