S&P Global Inc. $SPGI Shares Sold by AIA Group Ltd

Key Points

• AIA Group cut its S&P Global stake by 39.9% in the third quarter, selling 5,398 shares and ending the period with 8,139 shares valued at about $3.2 million. Institutional investors overall owned 87.17% of the company.
• S&P Global reported quarterly EPS of $4.58, beating the $4.43 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 6.8% year over year to $3.68 billion.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy”, with an average price target of $523.35. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.97 per share, or $3.88 annualized.

AIA Group Ltd lessened its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 39.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,139 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,398 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in S&P Global were worth $3,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Dorsey Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 1st quarter worth about $94,716,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 17.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 20,005 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,509,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in S&P Global by 12.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 572,659 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $233,228,000 after buying an additional 65,529 shares in the last quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 127.4% in the second quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 9,033 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,678,000 after purchasing an additional 5,061 shares during the period. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the second quarter worth about $18,361,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI opened at $481.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.74. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $381.61 and a 12-month high of $552.25. The business's fifty day moving average price is $424.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $430.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.15. S&P Global had a net margin of 32.21% and a return on equity of 19.46%. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.73 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.89 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be issued a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on S&P Global from $505.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on S&P Global from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $523.35.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global NYSE: SPGI is a global provider of financial information, analytics, benchmarks and credit ratings. Its services are used by investors, corporations, governments and other organizations to evaluate risk, assess markets, support investment decisions and manage business operations.

The company operates through businesses including S&P Global Ratings, which provides credit ratings and related research; S&P Global Market Intelligence, which delivers data, research and analytics on companies, markets and industries; and S&P Global Commodity Insights, which supplies information and analysis for energy and commodity markets.

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