Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Lowers Stake in S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management cut its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 30.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,678 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,584 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 134.6% in the fourth quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 61 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SPGI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn reduced their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore lowered their price objective on S&P Global from $625.00 to $560.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded S&P Global to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on S&P Global from $575.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $532.00.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz bought 1,152 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $434.03 per share, for a total transaction of $500,002.56. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $500,002.56. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Catherine R. Clay purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $431.39 per share, with a total value of $1,078,475.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 2,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,078,475. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders purchased a total of 5,974 shares of company stock valued at $2,576,775 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

S&P Global Stock Up 1.2%

S&P Global stock opened at $444.35 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $381.61 and a fifty-two week high of $579.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $420.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $445.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $4.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.82 by $0.15. S&P Global had a return on equity of 17.26% and a net margin of 30.37%.The business had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. S&P Global has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.400-19.650 EPS. Analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 19.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 26th will be issued a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 24.56%.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global is a leading provider of financial information, analytics and benchmark indices that serve investors, issuers, corporations and public institutions worldwide. The company operates through well-known businesses that include credit ratings, market intelligence and index licensing, as well as commodity and energy information services. Its products and services are used to assess creditworthiness, inform investment decisions, construct and track benchmark portfolios, and support risk and commodity market analysis.

S&P Global Ratings provides independent credit ratings, research and data used by fixed income investors and capital market participants to evaluate issuer and transaction risk.