S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by West Family Investments Inc.

West Family Investments Inc. decreased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 993 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barden Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in S&P Global by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Barden Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,742,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 13,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,805,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 1,911.2% in the fourth quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 18,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,325,000 after purchasing an additional 17,793 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 1,149 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $514.13 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $515.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $511.48. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $158.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

About S&P Global

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.