Fayez Sarofim & Co Sells 23,703 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. by 1.5%, selling 23,703 shares, and now holds approximately 1.54 million shares valued at around $786 million.
• Brokerages have raised price targets for S&P Global, with Morgan Stanley increasing its target from $595 to $615 and Wells Fargo boosting it from $632 to $660, reflecting confidence in the stock’s performance.
• S&P Global announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7%, reaffirming its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Fayez Sarofim & Co lowered its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,538,576 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 23,703 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up 2.0% of Fayez Sarofim & Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Fayez Sarofim & Co owned about 0.50% of S&P Global worth $786,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in S&P Global in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the first quarter worth $26,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI stock traded down $2.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $556.99. The stock had a trading volume of 820,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,181,274. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $525.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $511.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $170.05 billion, a PE ratio of 42.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $427.14 and a one year high of $566.42.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 27.30%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $604.00 to $621.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.69.

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.