Blue Trust Inc. Trims Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 46.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,091 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,806 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in S&P Global by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 658,766 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $328,632,000 after acquiring an additional 225,370 shares in the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management grew its stake in S&P Global by 7.0% during the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 27,358 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in S&P Global by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $14,198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,093 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its stake in S&P Global by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $24,980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in S&P Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $542.61. The stock had a trading volume of 1,725,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,361,392. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $508.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $508.17. The firm has a market cap of $167.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global's payout ratio is presently 29.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of S&P Global from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.