Eastern Bank Acquires 16,375 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Eastern Bank boosted its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 50.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,627 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,375 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in S&P Global were worth $25,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Capital International Investors lifted its position in S&P Global by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,793,751 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,464,951,000 after acquiring an additional 291,712 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,826,597 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,260,665,000 after acquiring an additional 29,227 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 13.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,516,811 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,115,697,000 after purchasing an additional 298,645 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 2.1% during the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,199,754 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $935,885,000 after purchasing an additional 46,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 1.4% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,461,169 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $651,682,000 after purchasing an additional 20,624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of S&P Global stock traded down $9.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $513.52. 1,259,466 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,197,760. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $512.98 and a 200-day moving average of $469.15. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $533.29. The company has a market cap of $160.68 billion, a PE ratio of 57.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. S&P Global's payout ratio is 40.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on S&P Global from $535.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Raymond James lowered S&P Global from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $599.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $565.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other S&P Global news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $715,205.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total value of $3,687,567.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,830 shares of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $715,205.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. Company 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 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.