Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 3,280 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 38.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,776 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares during the period. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in S&P Global were worth $5,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global during the first quarter valued at $28,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 103.3% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 61 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in S&P Global during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock traded down $6.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $544.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,885,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,018. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $427.14 and a one year high of $558.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $519.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $508.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.80, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.19.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.25. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other S&P Global 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SPGI shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on S&P Global from $632.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Argus upgraded S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.69.

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.