Veracity Capital LLC Cuts Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Veracity Capital LLC cut its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 658 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. Veracity Capital LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Janney Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC now owns 17,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,678,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,403,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $618,369,000 after acquiring an additional 190,758 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 20,215 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,905,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 107.2% during the second quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 5,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,798,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $498.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 698,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,242,908. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $469.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $442.14. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $340.49 and a 52 week high of $502.95. The stock has a market cap of $156.13 billion, a PE ratio of 55.92, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.73%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SPGI shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on S&P Global from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,185.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,205.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,185.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,205.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total value of $3,687,567.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.