S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Stake Lessened by Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lowered its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,917 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,496 shares during the period. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 1st quarter valued at $351,774,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in S&P Global by 352.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 463,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,669,000 after purchasing an additional 360,909 shares during the period. Third Point LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the first quarter worth $142,526,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in S&P Global by 13.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,516,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,115,697,000 after acquiring an additional 298,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in S&P Global by 5.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 291,712 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total value of $3,385,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 154,912 shares in the company, valued at $74,915,443.20. 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $514.71 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $503.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $340.49 and a fifty-two week high of $528.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.17.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. S&P Global’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SPGI shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays boosted 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 report on Friday, September 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $552.42.

About S&P Global

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.