LPL Financial LLC Acquires 11,339 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,339 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $103,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in S&P Global by 103.4% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, First Pacific Financial increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 49.0% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $520.01 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $162.71 billion, a PE ratio of 58.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.17. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $340.49 and a fifty-two week high of $521.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $492.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $451.00.

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

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 40.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SPGI. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $532.00 to $537.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $535.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total value of $3,385,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 154,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,915,443.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other S&P Global news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.60, for a total transaction of $3,385,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 154,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,915,443.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,205.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock valued at $8,645,727 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.