Westpac Banking Corp Reduces Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stock position in S&P Global by 18.2%, owning 3,722 shares worth $1,891,000 after selling 826 shares in the first quarter.
• S&P Global reported $4.43 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $3.76 billion, up 5.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.7%, to be paid on September 10th.

Westpac Banking Corp cut its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,722 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 826 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SPGI. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,176 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,582,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its position in S&P Global by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 74,479 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $37,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,413 shares during the period. GHE LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 13,504 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,725,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 80,489 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,086,000 after purchasing an additional 6,010 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $559.28 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $527.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $511.67. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $427.14 and a 12-month high of $566.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.02, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.19.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.65 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 27.30%. The company's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.04 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $604.00 to $621.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.69.

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.

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