Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Makes New $8.51 Million Investment in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,749 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,510,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 37,746 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $18,799,000 after purchasing an additional 6,051 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,040,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 20.2% during 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. Coalescence Partners Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 62.7% during the fourth quarter. Coalescence Partners Investment Management LP now owns 30,089 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,985,000 after purchasing an additional 11,599 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Price Performance

S&P Global stock traded up $0.99 on Thursday, reaching $529.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 703,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,231,355. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $162.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.61, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.19. The business's fifty day moving average price is $514.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $505.11. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $427.14 and a twelve month high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 27.27%. The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $587.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on S&P Global from $618.00 to $565.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $596.79.

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.