S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Natixis

Natixis trimmed its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,208 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 24,366 shares during the period. Natixis' holdings in S&P Global were worth $11,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SPGI. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at $1,725,084,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $308,525,000 after buying an additional 618,620 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,091,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in S&P Global by 1,384.4% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 290,500 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $139,718,000 after acquiring an additional 270,930 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPGI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America started coverage on S&P Global in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer lowered 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 report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $591.86.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SPGI traded up $4.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $470.84. 1,232,137 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,265. The firm has a market cap of $147.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.12, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $496.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $503.76. 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 (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from S&P Global's previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. S&P Global's 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.