Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 1,325 Shares of S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 630,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,325 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.21% of S&P Global worth $268,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. grew its stake in S&P Global by 134.6% during the fourth quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 61 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Palladiem LLC bought a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SPGI. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $525.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on S&P Global from $560.00 to $510.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on S&P Global from $551.00 to $554.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on S&P Global from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $533.59.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In other news, Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz acquired 1,152 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $434.03 per share, with a total value of $500,002.56. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $500,002.56. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Martina Cheung acquired 2,322 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $429.93 per share, with a total value of $998,297.46. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 27,518 shares in the company, valued at $11,830,813.74. The trade was a 9.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 5,974 shares of company stock worth $2,576,775. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $426.19 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $423.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $441.46. The stock has a market cap of $126.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.08. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $381.61 and a fifty-two week high of $579.05. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $4.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.37 EPS. S&P Global’s quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. S&P Global has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.400-19.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 18.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.97 per share. This represents a $3.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 24.56%.

About S&P Global

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.