S&P Global Inc. $SPGI Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial increased its stake in S&P Global by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, and institutional ownership remains very high at 87.17% of the stock.
• S&P Global reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $4.97 per share beating expectations and revenue of $4.17 billion topping estimates; revenue was up 10.4% year over year.
• The company also paid a $0.97 quarterly dividend and has received generally positive analyst coverage, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $546.39.

LPL Financial LLC raised its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 320,238 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,225 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.11% of S&P Global worth $167,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 264,741 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $139,398,000 after acquiring an additional 103,425 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 73,966 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,748 shares during the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $816,000. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC now owns 311,932 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $163,012,000 after buying an additional 25,699 shares during the period. Finally, Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $427.06 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $381.61 and a one year high of $579.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $425.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $459.77.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.15. S&P Global had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 30.37%.The company had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.37 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. S&P Global has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.400-19.650 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 29th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.56%.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In related news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 1,152 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $434.03 per share, with a total value of $500,002.56. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $500,002.56. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martina Cheung acquired 2,322 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $429.93 per share, for a total transaction of $998,297.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,518 shares in the company, valued at $11,830,813.74. This represents a 9.22% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 5,974 shares of company stock valued at $2,576,775. Corporate insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on S&P Global from $599.00 to $489.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on S&P Global from $482.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on S&P Global from $585.00 to $540.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on S&P Global from $556.00 to $557.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on S&P Global from $620.00 to $560.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $546.39.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global is a leading provider of financial information, analytics and benchmark indices that serve investors, issuers, corporations and public institutions worldwide. The company operates through well-known businesses that include credit ratings, market intelligence and index licensing, as well as commodity and energy information services. Its products and services are used to assess creditworthiness, inform investment decisions, construct and track benchmark portfolios, and support risk and commodity market analysis.

S&P Global Ratings provides independent credit ratings, research and data used by fixed income investors and capital market participants to evaluate issuer and transaction risk.

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