S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. trimmed its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 265 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $5,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,725,084,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth about $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,525,000 after buying an additional 618,620 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $144,091,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 worth $4,581,580,000 after purchasing an additional 292,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.7 %

S&P Global stock opened at $514.56 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $515.43 and a 200-day moving average of $509.99. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $545.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.49 billion, a PE ratio of 41.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price 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. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

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.