Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 6,613 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd has reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. by 26.7%, selling 6,613 shares to hold a total of 18,201 shares valued at approximately $9.25 million.
• Analysts are optimistic about S&P Global, with most giving a buy rating and a consensus target price of $611.69, despite some recent price adjustments.
• The company reported earnings per share of $4.43 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 to be paid in September.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lowered its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,201 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,613 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in S&P Global were worth $9,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $632.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target 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. Argus upgraded shares of S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $611.69.

S&P Global Stock Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $559.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $527.21 and a 200-day moving average of $511.67. The firm has a market cap of $170.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $427.14 and a 1-year high of $566.42.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.30% and a return on equity of 15.11%. S&P Global's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.54%.

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.

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