Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Lowers Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lowered its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,953 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,831 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $4,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headinvest LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. EWA LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. EWA LLC now owns 498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in S&P Global by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $515,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 674 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:SPGI opened at $497.20 on Friday. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $513.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $510.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.26, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the company earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 0.77%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 31.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SPGI shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective 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 began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.