Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 1,551 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,551 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $26,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions 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 purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,725,084,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 6.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in S&P Global by 0.5% during 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. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI opened at $462.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $499.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $504.47. The firm has a market cap of $145.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.45, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26.

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

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given 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 yield of 0.83%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SPGI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on S&P Global from $618.00 to $565.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.86.

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.