Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

by · The Markets Daily

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI – Free Report) by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,476 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 574 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First National Corp MA ADV lifted its stake in S&P Global by 0.9% in the third quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 2,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,211,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. now owns 100 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 863 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chatham Capital Group Inc. increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,007,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer upped their price target on S&P Global from $540.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America increased their target price 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $571.31.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on SPGI

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock traded up $4.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $485.12. The company had a trading volume of 303,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,035. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $365.00 and a 52-week high of $533.29. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $512.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $472.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $150.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.18.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.21 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.16 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 32.13%.

About S&P Global

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading