Davidson Trust Co. Lowers Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Davidson Trust Co. cut its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,112,935,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 11,089.7% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,230,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $914,794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210,296 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,318,418 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,446,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,116 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 39.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,727,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,056,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 113,163.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,005,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,889 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other S&P Global news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total transaction of $2,548,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,032,992.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI stock traded down $1.47 during trading on Friday, hitting $411.90. 362,682 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,297,391. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $338.92 and a 52 week high of $461.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $425.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $415.25.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SPGI. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of S&P Global from $460.00 to $442.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $462.00.

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.