Bell Bank Lowers Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Bell Bank reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 22.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,812 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 528 shares during the period. Bell Bank's holdings in S&P Global were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SPGI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $1,725,084,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 2,135,599 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $308,525,000 after buying an additional 618,620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in S&P Global by 19.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 525,347 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus raised shares of S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut S&P Global from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $592.71.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the business'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 now directly owns 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded down $3.85 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $501.15. 1,197,002 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,224,466. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $498.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $503.71. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $427.14 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.70 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. The company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.01 earnings per share. Equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 28th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

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.