S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 591,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,881 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in S&P Global were worth $294,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 77.1% in the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 94.4% in the third 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 in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:SPGI opened at $539.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $167.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $506.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $506.78.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of S&P Global from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.92.

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.