Sustainable Growth Advisers LP Cuts Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lowered its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,631,211 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 285,529 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up approximately 4.1% of Sustainable Growth Advisers LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP owned approximately 0.53% of S&P Global worth $812,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 52.0% during the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,170,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 47,705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.86.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.3 %

SPGI stock opened at $478.74 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $514.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $511.23. The company has a market capitalization of $147.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (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 research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. 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.