Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 2,245 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 121,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,245 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $54,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 75.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 2,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 75.7% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $564.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on S&P Global from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” 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 company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $535.25.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of SPGI traded down $6.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $510.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,037,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,332. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $340.49 and a 52 week high of $521.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $159.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $486.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.58.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. S&P Global’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $245,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global 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.