S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,038 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in S&P Global were worth $64,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. increased its position in S&P Global by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Stegent Equity Advisors Inc. now owns 659 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Invenio Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Invenio Wealth Partners LLC now owns 574 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 5,762 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,870,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Burford Brothers Inc. lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. now owns 794 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SPGI shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on S&P Global from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America initiated coverage on S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $601.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI traded up $5.85 on Friday, hitting $536.70. 273,997 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,281,665. The firm has a market cap of $164.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.19. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $518.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $507.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $427.14 and a one year high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.01 earnings per share. S&P Global's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global's payout ratio is currently 30.16%.

S&P Global 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.