Arizona State Retirement System Buys 5,816 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 98,568 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in S&P Global were worth $50,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE SPGI traded down $2.78 on Friday, reaching $527.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 816,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,109. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $515.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $505.48. The firm has a market cap of $161.65 billion, a PE ratio of 41.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $427.14 and a 52 week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 27.27%. S&P Global's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.01 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's payout ratio is 30.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Argus upgraded S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $596.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

About S&P Global

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.