Fisher Asset Management LLC Sells 164 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Fisher Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $3,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 94.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 700.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $523.27 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $514.96 and its 200 day moving average is $511.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $161.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on SPGI. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup started coverage on S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.23.

S&P Global 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.