Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,307 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB boosted its position in S&P Global by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 871,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $450,280,000 after buying an additional 92,115 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 8.7% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,130,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.23.

S&P Global Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $497.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $515.06 and a 200 day moving average of $511.59. The firm has a market cap of $153.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.27, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (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 period last year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

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.