Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 114,674 Shares of S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

Key Points

• Artisan Partners trimmed its S&P Global position by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 114,674 shares and leaving it with 685,769 shares valued at about $358.4 million.
• Insiders have been buying SPGI stock: CEO Martina Cheung and Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz both purchased shares recently, and insiders bought 5,974 shares worth $2.58 million over the last three months.
• S&P Global reported solid quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts remain constructive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a price target of $546.39.

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership cut its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 685,769 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 114,674 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.23% of S&P Global worth $358,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,398,991,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 858.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,760,230 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $919,879,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,544 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,037,912 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,587,910,000 after purchasing an additional 922,433 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 353.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 488,185 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $255,121,000 after purchasing an additional 380,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Agricole S A bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $180,503,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In related news, CEO Martina Cheung acquired 2,322 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $429.93 per share, with a total value of $998,297.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,830,813.74. This trade represents a 9.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 1,152 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $434.03 per share, with a total value of $500,002.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,152 shares in the company, valued at $500,002.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders purchased 5,974 shares of company stock valued at $2,576,775 in the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $433.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $424.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $457.78. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 30.37% and a return on equity of 17.26%. S&P Global's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. S&P Global has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.400-19.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 19.61 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SPGI shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $551.00 to $554.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $556.00 to $557.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $546.39.

About S&P Global

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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