Ashford Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Ashford Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 6.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sachetta LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 103.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $513.45 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $159.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $533.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $509.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $489.01.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. S&P Global’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. Equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 32.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $564.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James cut shares of S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $571.31.

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.