Payden & Rygel Trims Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Payden & Rygel reduced its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $13,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SPGI. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 658,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $328,632,000 after acquiring an additional 225,370 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,980,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 37,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,799,000 after buying an additional 6,051 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the third quarter worth about $27,170,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of SPGI opened at $451.47 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $513.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $509.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $141.69 billion, a PE ratio of 36.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on SPGI shares. UBS Group upped their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.