Davis Rea LTD. Makes New Investment in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Davis Rea LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,303 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,727,000. S&P Global makes up about 1.3% of Davis Rea LTD.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $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 bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $238,503,000. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $178,858,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. This represents a 8.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:SPGI traded up $4.13 on Friday, reaching $534.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 788,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,113. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $427.14 and a 12-month high of $545.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $164.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $518.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $507.37.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. S&P Global's payout ratio is 30.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPGI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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. Argus upgraded S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.