S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Bank

Washington Trust Bank reduced its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 455 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 21 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SPGI. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $351,774,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 174,815.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 467,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $241,274,000 after purchasing an additional 466,757 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased 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 valued at $206,669,000 after purchasing an additional 360,909 shares in the last quarter. Third Point LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $142,526,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in S&P Global by 13.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 298,645 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on SPGI. Barclays raised their price objective on S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $571.31.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI stock opened at $497.10 on Friday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.12 and a 52-week high of $533.29. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $511.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $474.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.16 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 32.13%.

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.