NEW YORK, Sept. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices will make the following changes to the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600 indices effective after the close of trading on Friday, September 19:

• Two S&P 500 constituents will switch places with two S&P MidCap 400 constituents, and an S&P MidCap 400 constituent will switch places with an S&P SmallCap 600 constituent. These transfers will make each index more representative of its market capitalization range; the companies moving to the S&P 500 have market capitalizations above $11 billion, the companies moving to the S&P MidCap 400 have market capitalizations between $3.5 billion and $4.5 billion, and the company moving to the S&P SmallCap 600 has a market capitalization below $1.5 billion. The transfers will be as follows:
  
  S&P MidCap 400 constituents United Rentals Inc. (NYSE:URI) and Universal Health Services Inc. (NYSE:UHS) will replace Graham Holdings Co. (NYSE:GHC) and Peabody Energy Corp.(NYSE:BTU)  in the S&P 500, and Graham Holdings and Peabody Energy will replace United Rentals and Universal Health Services in the S&P MidCap 400.
  
  S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Cognex Corp. (NASD:CGNX) will replace Westamerica Bancorporation (NASD:WABC) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Westamerica will replace Cognex in the S&P SmallCap 600.

United Rentals operates as an equipment rental company. Headquartered in Stamford, CT, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) Trading Companies & Distributors Sub-Industry index.

Universal Health Services owns and operates acute care hospitals, behavioral health centers, surgical hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and radiation oncology centers. Headquartered in King Of Prussia, PA, the company will be added to the S&P 500 GICS Health Care Facilities Sub-Industry index.

Graham Holdings operates as a diversified education and media company. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Education Services Sub-Industry index.

Peabody Energy is a coal mining company.  Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Coal & Consumable Fuels Sub-Industry index.

Cognex provides machine vision products.  Headquartered in Natick, MA, the company will be added to the S&P MidCap 400 GICS Electronic Equipment & Instruments Sub-Industry index.

Westamerica Bancorporation provides a range of banking services. Headquartered in San Rafael, CA, the company will be added to the S&P SmallCap 600 GICS Regional Banks Sub-Industry index.

Following is a summary of the changes:

Additions to and deletions from S&P  Dow Jones Indices do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the companies involved.

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S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, a part of McGraw Hill Financial, is the world's largest, global resource for index-based concepts, data and research. Home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average^™, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC has over 115 years of experience constructing innovative and transparent solutions that fulfill the needs of investors. More assets are invested in products based upon our indices than any other provider in the world. With over 1,000,000 indices covering a wide range of asset classes across the globe, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC defines the way investors measure and trade the markets. To learn more about our company, please visit www.spdji.com.

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For more information:
Dave Guarino
Communications
S&P Dow Jones Indices
dave.guarino@spdji.com
(212) 438-1471

David Blitzer
Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee
S&P Dow Jones Indices
david.blitzer@spdji.com 
(212) 438-3907

SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices