Ritholtz Wealth Management Raises Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,367 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 682 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in S&P Global were worth $4,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,725,084,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 60,982.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,139,101 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,086,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135,599 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $308,525,000 after purchasing an additional 618,620 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in S&P Global by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,276,043 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,631,568,000 after acquiring an additional 525,347 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other S&P Global news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI traded down $4.84 on Friday, hitting $501.03. 1,343,042 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,225,432. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $497.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $503.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $153.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $427.14 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39.

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. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.72 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The company's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.01 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. S&P Global's payout ratio is 30.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus raised shares of S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of S&P Global from $618.00 to $565.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of S&P Global from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $592.71.

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.