Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,944 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Spire were worth $2,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Spire during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Spire during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Spire by 26.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Spire in the first quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Spire by 6,551.6% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 2,031 shares during the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $473,899.02. This represents a 6.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.86% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $66.19.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SR opened at $67.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.11, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.36 and a 52 week high of $68.02.

Spire Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be paid a dividend of $3.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 18.74%. This is an increase from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. Spire’s payout ratio is presently 72.60%.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.