Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Acquires New Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. has acquired a new position in S&P Global Inc., purchasing 549 shares valued at approximately $279,000 in the first quarter.
• S&P Global reported a **quarterly EPS of $4.37**, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenues increasing by **8.2% year-over-year** to **$3.78 billion**.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.96 per share**, with a **dividend yield of 0.72%**, reflecting a payout ratio of **30.16%**.

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 549 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

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

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,619,016.33. This represents a 8.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on S&P Global from $587.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $601.07.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of S&P Global stock traded up $2.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $532.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 496,935 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,276,837. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $427.14 and a twelve month high of $545.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $518.61 and a 200-day moving average of $507.86. The stock has a market cap of $163.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.01 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

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.