Arkadios Wealth Advisors Raises Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in S&P Global Inc. by 64.6%, acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 3,456 shares valued at $1,756,000.
• Several analysts raised their price targets for S&P Global, with Wells Fargo increasing its target from $627 to $632 and Barclays raising it from $610 to $620, indicating a consensus of investment optimism.
• S&P Global reported a net margin of 27.27% for the last quarter, with earnings per share of $4.43, surpassing analyst expectations of $4.18.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 64.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,456 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors' holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in S&P Global by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,631,568,000 after acquiring an additional 525,347 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in S&P Global by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,071,407 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,653,000 after purchasing an additional 357,790 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,184,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,087,853,000 after buying an additional 224,294 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 60,982.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,139,101 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,086,877,000 after buying an additional 2,135,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Forge Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Valley Forge Capital Management LP now owns 1,755,098 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $874,091,000 after purchasing an additional 49,200 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.1%

SPGI traded down $6.24 on Friday, hitting $544.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,885,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,738. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $427.14 and a 52-week high of $558.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $520.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $509.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.19.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.30% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's payout ratio is 30.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SPGI. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on S&P Global from $604.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on S&P Global from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $611.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,131 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,016.33. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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.