Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Sells 12,034 Shares of S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 20.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,034 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $19,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,374,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,873,340,000 after acquiring an additional 117,728 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in S&P Global by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,259,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,451,971,000 after purchasing an additional 157,301 shares during the last quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. TCI Fund Management Ltd. now owns 11,790,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,161,498,000 after purchasing an additional 600,440 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,333,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,354,796,000 after purchasing an additional 263,051 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,398,991,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI opened at $439.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $381.61 and a 52-week high of $579.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $423.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $440.76.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $4.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 30.37%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 18.37 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.97 per share. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 24.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Martina Cheung acquired 2,322 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $429.93 per share, for a total transaction of $998,297.46. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 27,518 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,830,813.74. This trade represents a 9.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Catherine R. Clay bought 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $431.39 per share, with a total value of $1,078,475.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,078,475. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 5,974 shares of company stock worth $2,576,775. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on SPGI. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Evercore cut their price target on shares of S&P Global from $625.00 to $560.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $551.00 to $554.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $533.59.

About S&P Global

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.