S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Laurus Global Equity Management Inc.

Laurus Global Equity Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 24.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,215 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 8,580 shares during the period. S&P Global comprises about 8.9% of Laurus Global Equity Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Laurus Global Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in S&P Global were worth $13,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SPGI. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,176 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in S&P Global by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 74,479 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,093,000 after buying an additional 2,413 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 13,504 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,725,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 42.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,855 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI traded down $7.75 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $522.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 791,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,698. The company has a market capitalization of $160.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 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 0.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $516.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $505.69. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $427.14 and a 52-week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.72 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 27.27%. The company's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.01 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SPGI. Oppenheimer increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Bank of America began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $596.79.

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.