S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. cut its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 783 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth $1,652,862,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 13.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,579,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,769,787,000 after purchasing an additional 881,215 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in S&P Global by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,502,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,423,762,000 after buying an additional 616,732 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in S&P Global by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,658,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,067,807,000 after buying an additional 428,737 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,179,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $430,827,000 after buying an additional 308,683 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of SPGI stock traded down $2.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $446.00. 3,028,270 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,709. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $431.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $431.75. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $340.49 and a 1-year high of $461.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.55 billion, a PE ratio of 50.00, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.15.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $4.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.68 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.39 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 12.20%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.1 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 40.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on SPGI. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $442.00 to $446.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $467.89.

About S&P Global

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.