Lazard Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 539,138 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 57,578 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.17% of S&P Global worth $268,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $1,725,084,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $308,525,000 after buying an additional 618,620 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% in 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 last quarter. Finally, BlueSpruce Investments LP acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $178,858,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 now owns 5,131 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,016.33. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SPGI. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on S&P Global from $607.00 to $627.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $592.71.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded up $7.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $519.87. The company had a trading volume of 1,207,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,222,254. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $486.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $501.96. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $419.49 and a 1 year high of $545.39. The company has a market capitalization of $159.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.01 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

S&P Global Company 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.