Missouri Trust & Investment Co Sells 200 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Missouri Trust & Investment Co trimmed its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 22.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co’s holdings in Spire were worth $47,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Spire in the third quarter worth approximately $39,228,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Spire in the 4th quarter worth $8,277,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Spire by 290.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,877,000 after acquiring an additional 97,358 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Spire by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,351,000 after acquiring an additional 72,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Spire by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,385,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $93,244,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the period. 87.36% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Treasurer Adam W. Woodard sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.47, for a total value of $77,590.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the treasurer now directly owns 2,587 shares in the company, valued at $174,544.89. The trade was a 30.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,504.25. The trade was a 70.18 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Mizuho upgraded shares of Spire from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $65.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Spire from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Spire Stock Performance

Shares of SR opened at $72.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $68.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.31. Spire Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.36 and a 52 week high of $73.64.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th were paid a $3.14 dividend. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.85%.

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.