Buffington Mohr McNeal Sells 384 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Buffington Mohr McNeal lessened its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,371 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 384 shares during the period. S&P Global accounts for approximately 1.6% of Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $8,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in S&P Global by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $1,644,000. Aspiriant LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $398,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in S&P Global by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 186,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $68,051,000 after buying an additional 20,153 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In other S&P Global 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,530 shares in the company, valued at $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI traded up $2.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $412.18. 429,811 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,309,777. The company has a market cap of $132.00 billion, a PE ratio of 49.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $338.92 and a 52-week high of $461.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $427.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $414.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.02). S&P Global had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.02 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.91 per share. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on SPGI. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James boosted their price target on S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $464.22.

About S&P Global

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, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.