Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank reduced its stake in S&P Global by 12.7%, selling 44,100 shares, and now holds approximately 0.10% of the company.
• Several hedge funds increased their positions in S&P Global during the fourth quarter, with notable raises from New Age Alpha Advisors (4,125.0%) and Pictet Asset Management (12.6%).
• S&P Global's quarterly earnings exceeded estimates, reporting $4.37 earnings per share and revenue of $3.78 billion, leading to strong analyst upgrades on its stock rating and target prices.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 304,121 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 44,100 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned approximately 0.10% of S&P Global worth $154,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 60,982.3% in 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. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 worth $1,631,568,000 after purchasing an additional 525,347 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $238,503,000. BlueSpruce Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $178,858,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 357,790 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded up $3.38 on Wednesday, hitting $534.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 452,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,490. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $427.14 and a 12-month high of $545.39. The company has a market capitalization of $163.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $518.79 and a 200-day moving average of $508.02.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.27% and a return on equity of 14.68%. The company had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SPGI. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $587.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on S&P Global from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Argus raised S&P Global to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $627.00 to $632.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $601.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the company'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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,131 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,619,016.33. This represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

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.