Raiffeisen Bank International AG Decreases Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Raiffeisen Bank International AG has reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. by 21.5%, now holding 159,002 shares after selling 43,428 shares in the first quarter.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their positions significantly, with GAMMA Investing LLC growing its stake by an astonishing 60,982.3% in the first quarter.
• S&P Global recently reported earnings of $4.43 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG cut its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 21.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,002 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 43,428 shares during the quarter. S&P Global accounts for 1.3% of Raiffeisen Bank International AG's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Raiffeisen Bank International AG owned 0.05% of S&P Global worth $80,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,631,568,000 after acquiring an additional 525,347 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,071,407 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,529,653,000 after acquiring an additional 357,790 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,184,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,087,853,000 after acquiring an additional 224,294 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 60,982.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,139,101 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,086,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley Forge Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley Forge Capital Management LP now owns 1,755,098 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $874,091,000 after acquiring an additional 49,200 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI opened at $544.86 on Friday. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $427.14 and a one year high of $558.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $520.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $509.15. The stock has a market cap of $167.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.91, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.65 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.30% and a return on equity of 15.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $632.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $611.69.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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