S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC decreased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,976 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $161,730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SPGI. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 3.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,581,580,000 after acquiring an additional 292,436 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,589,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,273,264,000 after purchasing an additional 116,208 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,725,084,000. Amundi raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,345,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,162,979,000 after purchasing an additional 145,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,999,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $995,795,000 after buying an additional 62,770 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $451.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $513.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $509.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.56, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced 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. Analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date 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 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.