Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,611 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $31,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Pacific Financial grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 49.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other S&P Global news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $245,775.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price 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. Two investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $530.75.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $500.59. The company had a trading volume of 679,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,709. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $473.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $443.26. The firm has a market cap of $156.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.12, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $340.49 and a 52 week high of $502.95.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.81%.

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.