S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,080,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 685,673 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.67% of S&P Global worth $1,036,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 131.0% during the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 94.4% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 700.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Citigroup started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

S&P Global Trading Down 7.7 %

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $451.47 on Monday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $405.23 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $513.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $509.15. The company has a market cap of $141.69 billion, a PE ratio of 36.56, a P/E/G 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. Equities analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

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

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.