BDF Gestion Takes $4.42 Million Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 9,909 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,419,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,356 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at about $295,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock traded up $1.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $488.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 600,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,258,101. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $459.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $439.91. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $340.49 and a one year high of $502.95. The firm has a market cap of $152.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.03.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. S&P Global’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.81%.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total value of $3,687,567.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total value of $3,385,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 154,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,915,443.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total transaction of $3,687,567.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,618,662.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $526.73.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.