Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Has $346.09 Million Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 694,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 145,217 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.22% of S&P Global worth $346,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in S&P Global by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 956,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $478,031,000 after purchasing an additional 49,352 shares during the period. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 180.3% in the 4th quarter. Banco BTG Pactual S.A. now owns 2,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 1,406 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 12,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,301,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 33,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,819,000 after buying an additional 777 shares during the period. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth approximately $300,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 1.0 %

S&P Global stock opened at $507.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $515.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $510.31. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.96 dividend. This is a positive change 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 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SPGI. Mizuho began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup assumed coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

S&P Global Company Profile

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.