Peak Asset Management LLC Sells 1,001 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Peak Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in S&P Global Inc. by 2.6%, bringing its total ownership to 38,021 shares, which are worth approximately $19.3 million.
• Analysts have varied views on S&P Global, with many raising their price targets; the average target is around $601.07 and most ratings are positive.
• S&P Global recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, with a payout ratio of 30.16%, highlighting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Peak Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,021 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,001 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up approximately 3.7% of Peak Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Peak Asset Management LLC's holdings in S&P Global were worth $19,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SPGI. Alteri Wealth LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Alteri Wealth LLC now owns 1,742 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 0.7% during the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 5,989 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,043,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 8.1% during the first quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,472 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 1.5% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,458 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,314,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motco increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 1.0% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 20,113 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $10,219,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SPGI. Argus raised S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $587.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $601.07.

S&P Global Stock Up 4.2%

NYSE SPGI traded up $22.42 on Thursday, reaching $551.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,255,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,280,907. The company's fifty day moving average is $519.19 and its 200-day moving average is $508.18. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $427.14 and a 1-year high of $558.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.34, 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.

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

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. S&P Global's payout ratio is 30.16%.

S&P Global Company 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.