Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Decreases Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 83,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,471 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up 3.2% of Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $41,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its stake in S&P Global by 131.0% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 700.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of SPGI opened at $437.19 on Tuesday. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The company has a market capitalization of $137.21 billion, a PE ratio of 35.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $512.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $508.54. 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 (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. 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 0.88%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

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.