Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 11,594 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR - Free Report) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 687,225 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 11,594 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 1.19% of Spire worth $46,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SR. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Spire in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the first quarter worth about $35,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Spire during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Spire by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Missouri Trust & Investment Co raised its holdings in Spire by 28.6% in the third quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 87.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Spire news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $473,899.02. This trade represents a 6.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.86% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Spire Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE SR traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.01. The company had a trading volume of 332,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,652. The company has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.48 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Spire Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.36 and a fifty-two week high of $68.02. The firm's 50 day moving average is $65.49 and its 200 day moving average is $63.56.

Spire Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $3.14 dividend. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 18.74%. This is an increase from Spire's previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Spire's payout ratio is 72.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on SR shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Spire from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Spire from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Spire from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Spire currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.19.

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.