Patten & Patten Inc. TN Cuts Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN decreased its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 560 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 871,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,280,000 after buying an additional 92,115 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,217,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,114,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $231,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SPGI opened at $486.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $149.80 billion, a PE ratio of 39.41, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $513.56 and a 200 day moving average of $510.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one 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 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 firm posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued 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 was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on SPGI shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.86.

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.