Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 1,181 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,181 shares during the quarter. S&P Global accounts for about 1.5% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $35,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SPGI. Swedbank AB grew its stake in S&P Global by 11.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 871,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $450,280,000 after purchasing an additional 92,115 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in S&P Global by 3.2% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,130,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in S&P Global by 19.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $488.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $150.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.55, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $514.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $511.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

S&P Global Company 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.