S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in S&P Global Inc. by 34.8% in Q1, owning 18,792 shares valued at approximately $9.5 million after the sale.
• Analysts have a predominantly positive outlook on S&P Global, with 14 buy ratings and a price target raised by JPMorgan to $625.
• S&P Global declared a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.72% and a payout ratio of 30.16%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 34.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,792 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,028 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in S&P Global were worth $9,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,589,982 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,273,264,000 after buying an additional 116,208 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 525,347 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,071,407 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,529,653,000 after acquiring an additional 357,790 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,184,312 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,087,853,000 after purchasing an additional 224,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 60,982.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,139,101 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,086,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135,599 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SPGI. Argus upgraded S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America began coverage on S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $587.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $567.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $601.07.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI traded up $24.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $553.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,019,944 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,279,081. The stock has a market cap of $169.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.19. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $427.14 and a 52-week high of $558.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $519.19 and a 200 day moving average of $508.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.25. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.68% and a net margin of 27.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.04 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

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 stock was 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.