Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Sells 451 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Middleton & Co. Inc. MA has reduced its holdings in S&P Global Inc. by 2.0%, now owning 22,552 shares valued at approximately $11.5 million.
• Institutional ownership of S&P Global is high, with 87.17% of shares owned by various investors, including significant increases from firms like Northern Trust Corp and UBS Asset Management.
• S&P Global reported an earnings per share of $4.43 for the latest quarter, surpassing analysts’ expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share.

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lessened its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,552 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 451 shares during the quarter. S&P Global comprises about 1.3% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's holdings in S&P Global were worth $11,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in S&P Global by 103.3% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 61 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.7%

SPGI traded down $3.77 on Thursday, hitting $558.79. 1,084,879 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,162,194. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $427.14 and a 12 month high of $566.42. The company has a market cap of $170.60 billion, a PE ratio of 42.98, a PEG ratio of 3.01 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 0.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $524.54 and its 200-day moving average is $510.73.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.25. S&P Global had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 27.30%. 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 company posted $4.04 earnings per share. S&P Global's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus raised S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $611.69.

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.