S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Purchased by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in S&P Global Inc. by 9.0%, owning approximately 294,521 shares valued at $148.88 million.
• S&P Global recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.84 and a yield of 0.72%.
• Analysts provided differing ratings for S&P Global, with a target price consensus ranging from $589 to $632 across various firms, showing a generally positive outlook with most ratings being "buy" or better.

LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 294,521 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,422 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.10% of S&P Global worth $148,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SPGI. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,040,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,139,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 86,794 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $44,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at $2,029,000. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,850 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,513,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPGI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Argus raised shares of S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.69.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock traded down $7.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $543.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 933,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,287,160. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $519.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $508.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $427.14 and a one year high of $558.86. The stock has a market cap of $166.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.19.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 14.68%. S&P Global's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.04 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

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 given a $0.96 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 30.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other S&P Global news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.