Balboa Wealth Partners Trims Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Balboa Wealth Partners trimmed its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 187 shares during the quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in S&P Global were worth $632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 700.0% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE SPGI opened at $478.74 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $514.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $511.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $147.36 billion, a PE ratio of 38.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on SPGI shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.86.

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.