NorthRock Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 63.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 37,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,799,000 after buying an additional 6,051 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,040,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 110.8% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 23,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,066,000 after purchasing an additional 12,547 shares during the last quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 217,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,173,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 11,499 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,727,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SPGI shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on S&P Global from $616.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $592.71.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total value of $255,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,131 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,619,016.33. This represents a 8.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

S&P Global Stock Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $515.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $486.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $501.89. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $419.49 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.77, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.23 by $0.14. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 30.16%.

S&P Global Profile

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.