Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 575 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Legato Capital Management LLC cut its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 25.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 575 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $229,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,571 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,269,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total value of $3,687,567.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at $7,618,662.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on SPGI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. 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. Barclays increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $530.75.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI stock opened at $505.54 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $474.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $443.54. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $340.49 and a fifty-two week high of $506.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.18 billion, a PE ratio of 56.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.12 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.81%.

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.