Banco Santander S.A. Cuts Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Banco Santander S.A. reduced its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 84.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,337 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 30,010 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter worth about $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sachetta LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 103.4% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SPGI traded up $3.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $514.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,230,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,211,235. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $533.29. The company has a market capitalization of $159.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.40, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $509.35 and a 200 day moving average of $481.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.64 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.43 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SPGI shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on S&P Global from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $571.31.

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.