S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Avalon Trust Co

Avalon Trust Co reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 339 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 83 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $169,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 71,024.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,525,000 after buying an additional 618,620 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,976,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,081,830,000 after buying an additional 369,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at about $144,091,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $486.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $513.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $510.94. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.41, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $3.13 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. 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. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price target 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, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently 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.