Pictet North America Advisors SA Lowers Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Pictet North America Advisors SA cut its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,479 shares during the quarter. S&P Global makes up 1.3% of Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Pictet North America Advisors SA’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $13,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in S&P Global by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI opened at $542.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $542.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $506.35 and its 200-day moving average is $506.53. The firm has a market cap of $168.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted 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 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 32.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SPGI shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587.92.

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.