AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 489,044 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 107,613 shares during the quarter. S&P Global accounts for 1.1% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $243,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kanawha Capital Management LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 12,827 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,388,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $314,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 6,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,200,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 18,368 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $542.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $168.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. 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 fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $542.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $506.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $506.53.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted 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 net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SPGI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.92.

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.