Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $9.93 Million Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,941 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 696 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $9,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in S&P Global by 11.8% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 871,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,280,000 after purchasing an additional 92,115 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in S&P Global by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings 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 during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $285,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $478.74 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $545.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $514.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $511.23. The stock has a market cap of $147.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.76, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. 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 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SPGI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Mizuho began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.86.

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.