AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 206,963 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 42.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 282,081 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 206,963 shares during the quarter. S&P Global makes up 0.8% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.09% of S&P Global worth $143,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $1,725,084,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 60,982.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,139,101 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,086,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135,599 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,631,568,000 after purchasing an additional 525,347 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $238,503,000. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $178,858,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE SPGI traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $524.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,333,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,370. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $427.14 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $517.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $506.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.20, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.19.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. The firm 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.01 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,619,016.33. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America assumed 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, UBS Group increased their price target on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $596.79.

S&P Global Profile

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.