J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Increases Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG significantly increased its stake in S&P Global Inc. by 863.4%, owning 36,069 shares valued at approximately $18.3 million after acquiring 32,325 shares in Q1.
• During the same period, other major investors also adjusted their positions, with hedge funds and institutional investors owning 87.17% of S&P Global's stock.
• S&P Global reported earnings per share of $4.43 for its latest quarter, surpassing estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG grew its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 863.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,069 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 32,325 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in S&P Global were worth $18,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds 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 bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased 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 worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on S&P Global from $632.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Argus raised S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.69.

S&P Global Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of NYSE:SPGI traded up $16.89 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $562.55. 1,714,224 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,061,015. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business's 50-day moving average price is $520.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $509.18. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $427.14 and a 12 month high of $563.02.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.04 EPS. Analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. 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.