Rhumbline Advisers Trims Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Rhumbline Advisers cut its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 591,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 8,881 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.19% of S&P Global worth $294,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its position in S&P Global by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI stock opened at $539.77 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $167.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.64, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $506.92 and a 200-day moving average of $506.78. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $407.69 and a 12-month high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note 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 research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of S&P Global from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $587.92.

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.