Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 556 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 19,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 556 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $9,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 174,815.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 467,024 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $241,274,000 after buying an additional 466,757 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at $224,976,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,081,830,000 after buying an additional 369,598 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $144,091,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,581,580,000 after buying an additional 292,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $540.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $167.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $505.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $506.00. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $542.00.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on SPGI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $570.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $584.54.

S&P Global Profile

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.