S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up 1.9% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 2,277 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $979,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its position in S&P Global by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 1,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,457 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $898,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,032,992.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $446.25.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of SPGI opened at $422.81 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $433.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $410.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $135.41 billion, a PE ratio of 51.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.15. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $329.46 and a fifty-two week high of $461.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 21.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.54 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.23%.

S&P Global Profile

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, and S&P Dow Jones Indices segments.