Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC Acquires 25,699 Shares of S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

Key Points

• Locust Wood Capital Advisers increased its stake in S&P Global by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 25,699 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 311,932 shares worth about $163.0 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 87.17% of S&P Global shares. Several large investors, including Vanguard, Wellington Management, Norges Bank, and Capital International Investors, also reported sizable positions.
• S&P Global continues to post solid results and shareholder returns, reporting quarterly EPS of $4.97 and revenue of $4.17 billion, both above expectations, while also announcing a $0.97 quarterly dividend payable June 10.

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 311,932 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 25,699 shares during the quarter. S&P Global accounts for about 3.9% of Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC owned 0.10% of S&P Global worth $163,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SPGI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in S&P Global by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,374,366 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,873,340,000 after buying an additional 117,728 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,231,644 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,033,003,000 after acquiring an additional 274,285 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth $2,398,991,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in S&P Global by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,037,912 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,587,910,000 after purchasing an additional 922,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in S&P Global by 3.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,202,872 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,072,160,000 after purchasing an additional 67,868 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPGI has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on S&P Global from $620.00 to $560.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on S&P Global from $482.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $489.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their target price on shares of S&P Global from $585.00 to $540.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $546.39.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:SPGI opened at $425.16 on Monday. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $381.61 and a twelve month high of $579.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $424.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.19.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 30.37% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The firm's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.37 earnings per share. S&P Global has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.400-19.650 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th will be issued a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 29th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.56%.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, CEO Martina Cheung bought 2,322 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $429.93 per share, for a total transaction of $998,297.46. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 27,518 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,830,813.74. The trade was a 9.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Catherine R. Clay bought 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $431.39 per share, for a total transaction of $1,078,475.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,078,475. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 5,974 shares of company stock worth $2,576,775. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Profile

S&P Global is a leading provider of financial information, analytics and benchmark indices that serve investors, issuers, corporations and public institutions worldwide. The company operates through well-known businesses that include credit ratings, market intelligence and index licensing, as well as commodity and energy information services. Its products and services are used to assess creditworthiness, inform investment decisions, construct and track benchmark portfolios, and support risk and commodity market analysis.

S&P Global Ratings provides independent credit ratings, research and data used by fixed income investors and capital market participants to evaluate issuer and transaction risk.

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