Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Reduces Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC cut its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 29.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,756 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 2.2% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 25,744,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,875,846,000 after buying an additional 549,673 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 3.0% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,368,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,195,628,000 after buying an additional 188,161 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,318,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,446,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,116 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,746,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,254,744,000 after acquiring an additional 108,404 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 39.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,727,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,097 shares during the period. 85.50% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $390.71 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.32 billion, a PE ratio of 53.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $397.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $371.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $279.32 and a 1-year high of $428.65.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The business services provider reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.12. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 19.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.81 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 12.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 25th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on S&P Global from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on S&P Global in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on S&P Global in a report on Thursday, June 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. TheStreet downgraded S&P Global from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on S&P Global from $460.00 to $451.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Adam Jason Kansler sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.38, for a total transaction of $3,873,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,119,872.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Adam Jason Kansler sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.38, for a total transaction of $3,873,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,119,872.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Saugata Saha sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.27, for a total value of $77,254.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,210,570.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,078 shares of company stock valued at $9,407,258. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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 six segments: S&P Global Ratings, S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Mobility, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions.