Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 5,415 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,380,037 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,415 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.37% of Spire worth $93,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SR. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Spire by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 6,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Spire by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 438 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Spire by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,406 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Spire by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,337 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company's stock.

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Spire Price Performance

Shares of Spire stock traded up $0.64 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.94. 115,885 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 386,797. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $75.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.56. Spire Inc. has a 12 month low of $57.27 and a 12 month high of $79.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.50.

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

Spire Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.785 dividend. This represents a $3.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Spire's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SR shares. Janney Montgomery Scott began coverage on shares of Spire in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Spire from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Spire to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Spire from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $72.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Spire from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $75.64.

Spire 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.