Montag & Caldwell LLC Sells 6,798 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Montag & Caldwell LLC reduced its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,688 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,798 shares during the quarter. S&P Global accounts for approximately 2.8% of Montag & Caldwell LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $13,291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,589,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,273,264,000 after acquiring an additional 116,208 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth about $1,725,084,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,345,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,162,979,000 after buying an additional 145,434 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in S&P Global by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,999,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $995,795,000 after buying an additional 62,770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,868,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $930,725,000 after acquiring an additional 9,880 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $471.68 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $503.97 and its 200-day moving average is $505.85. The stock has a market cap of $148.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased 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. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $595.14.

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.