Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $2.99 Million Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 327 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $2,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter worth $29,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 94.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $534.09 on Friday. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.25, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $513.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $510.82. 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 (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 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 period last year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

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.