Academy Capital Management Reduces Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Academy Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the quarter. S&P Global makes up 1.5% of Academy Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Academy Capital Management’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $9,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,525,000 after buying an additional 618,620 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in S&P Global during the third quarter worth about $224,976,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 6.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,081,830,000 after purchasing an additional 369,598 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,091,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,581,580,000 after purchasing an additional 292,436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $516.24 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $158.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $514.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $511.38.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 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 business posted $3.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group upped their target price 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. StockNews.com cut S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.23.

About S&P Global

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.