Squarepoint Ops LLC Has $3.87 Million Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 94.6% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 152,027 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $3,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 5.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,793,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,464,951,000 after acquiring an additional 291,712 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,818,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,241,706,000 after purchasing an additional 12,644 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,199,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $935,885,000 after purchasing an additional 46,131 shares during the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,458,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $620,366,000 after buying an additional 8,435 shares during the period. Finally, Ninety One UK Ltd raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 0.7% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,362,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $607,818,000 after buying an additional 9,053 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $512.15 on Wednesday. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $528.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $503.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $459.73. The firm has a market cap of $160.25 billion, a PE ratio of 57.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.81%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,496,816.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SPGI. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James lowered shares of S&P Global from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $564.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.18.

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.