Eastern Bank Has $26.31 Million Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Eastern Bank grew its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,779 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank's holdings in S&P Global were worth $26,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SPGI. Vestcor Inc raised its stake in S&P Global by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 6,112 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,106,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC now owns 11,776 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,280 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 2,685.7% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 585 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares during the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors grew its stake in S&P Global by 4.7% in the first quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 9,648 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in S&P Global in the first quarter worth about $7,162,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $604.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value 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. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.1%

SPGI stock traded down $6.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $544.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,885,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,018. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $167.11 billion, a PE ratio of 42.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $427.14 and a 12 month high of $558.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $519.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $508.64.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.25. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.04 earnings per share. S&P Global's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's payout ratio is presently 30.16%.

S&P Global Company 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.