Bank of New York Mellon Corp Increases Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 778,442 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 106,386 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.35% of Spire worth $52,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Spire in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Spire by 1,318.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 539 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.36% of the company's stock.

Spire Trading Up 0.6 %

Spire stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.39. The stock had a trading volume of 599,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,106. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.27 and a twelve month high of $78.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $71.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.44.

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Spire (NYSE:SR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.08). Spire had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 7.88%. Analysts expect that Spire Inc. will post 4.5 EPS for the current year.

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

Insider Activity at Spire

In other Spire news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $174,544.89. This trade represents a 30.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 2.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Spire in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Spire from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America started coverage on Spire in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.00.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.