Private Advisor Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 316 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $4,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Headinvest LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 4.2% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.3% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 127 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.4 %

SPGI opened at $533.05 on Monday. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $545.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $510.08 and a 200 day moving average of $509.45. The firm has a market cap of $164.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.09%.

S&P Global Company 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.