Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC Acquires 21,382 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 12.6% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 21,382 shares to reach a total of 191,409 shares.
• S&P Global's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $4.43, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 5.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, with a record date of August 26th, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 191,409 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 21,382 shares during the period. S&P Global accounts for approximately 3.1% of Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC owned 0.06% of S&P Global worth $97,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the first quarter worth $28,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on S&P Global from $632.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $611.69.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE:SPGI traded down $2.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $556.99. The company had a trading volume of 820,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,181,274. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $525.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $511.06. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $427.14 and a one year high of $566.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.05 billion, a PE ratio of 42.85, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.19.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.25. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.30% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.04 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's 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.