Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 3,279 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,535 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,279 shares during the period. S&P Global comprises approximately 1.5% of Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC's holdings in S&P Global were worth $36,956,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 5.3% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,793,751 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,464,951,000 after buying an additional 291,712 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,826,597 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,260,665,000 after purchasing an additional 29,227 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 13.5% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,516,811 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,115,697,000 after purchasing an additional 298,645 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.4% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,461,169 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $651,682,000 after purchasing an additional 20,624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its stake in S&P Global by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,458,141 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $620,366,000 after buying an additional 8,435 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI traded down $7.88 on Friday, hitting $502.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 623,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,206,846. The stock's 50-day moving average is $510.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $478.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $156.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.18. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $401.79 and a 12 month high of $533.29.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.25. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The business had revenue of $3.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.21 earnings per share. S&P Global's revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.25 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on S&P Global from $540.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on S&P Global from $605.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $571.31.

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.