Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Lowers Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lessened its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,691 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 658 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in S&P Global were worth $11,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SPGI. Jump Financial LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 85.4% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 3,855 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 50.6% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,587 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,284,000 after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 84.6% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 95,200 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,412,000 after buying an additional 43,639 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth approximately $711,000. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,210,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased 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, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on S&P Global from $633.00 to $607.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $591.86.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE:SPGI traded down $1.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $462.55. 913,056 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,241,471. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. The stock has a market cap of $145.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $499.33 and its 200-day moving average is $504.61. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 yield of 0.83%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio is 31.09%.

S&P Global Company Profile

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.