Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $7.16 Million in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has invested approximately $7.16 million in S&P Global Inc., acquiring 14,094 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• S&P Global recently reported earnings of $4.37 per share, surpassing Wall Street expectations, with revenue increasing by 8.2% year-over-year to $3.78 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96, set to be paid on September 10th, representing an annualized yield of 0.72%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 14,094 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,162,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in S&P Global by 103.3% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 61 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 131.0% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $530.31 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $162.65 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $427.14 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $518.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $507.86.

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

S&P Global Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Argus upgraded S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $601.07.

S&P Global Company 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.

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