S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC lessened its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,077 shares during the period. S&P Global comprises about 2.9% of Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.05% of S&P Global worth $84,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SPGI. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,589,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,273,264,000 after purchasing an additional 116,208 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $1,725,084,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,345,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,162,979,000 after purchasing an additional 145,434 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,999,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $995,795,000 after purchasing an additional 62,770 shares during the period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,868,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $930,725,000 after purchasing an additional 9,880 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $474.73 on Thursday. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $545.39. The company has a market capitalization of $148.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.44, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $507.01 and its 200-day moving average is $506.94.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business earned $3.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Citigroup assumed coverage on S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.86.

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.