Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 90,689 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 22.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 492,055 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 90,689 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.16% of S&P Global worth $250,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,176 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $144,091,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 7,033 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,503,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in S&P Global by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 10,863 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,410,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded down $8.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $505.94. 1,321,399 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,221,074. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $427.14 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $495.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $504.24.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.16%.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other 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 transaction of $255,215.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,619,016.33. This trade represents a 8.88% decrease in their position. 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $607.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $592.71.

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.