Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 365,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 52,702 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.11% of S&P Global worth $126,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the first quarter valued at $321,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the first quarter valued at $242,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in S&P Global by 4.5% in the first quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 16,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,799,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 3.5% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 64,722 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,314,000 after purchasing an additional 2,194 shares during the period. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its position in S&P Global by 12,181.8% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 1,351 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.50% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SPGI opened at $387.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $397.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $372.04. The stock has a market cap of $123.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.12. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $279.32 and a 1 year high of $428.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The business services provider reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $3.12. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.81 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 12.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 28th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 25th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on S&P Global from $460.00 to $451.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Bank of America assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, June 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, TheStreet cut S&P Global from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Saugata Saha sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.13, for a total value of $78,026.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,381.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Saugata Saha sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.13, for a total value of $78,026.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $364,381.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 9,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $394.11, for a total value of $3,805,920.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,831,454.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,857 shares of company stock valued at $8,549,352. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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 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.