Lokken Investment Group LLC Decreases Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Lokken Investment Group LLC lowered its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,268,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Headinvest LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Headinvest LLC now owns 997 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. EWA LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 4.2% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 498 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.3% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 674 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of SPGI opened at $508.48 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $515.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $510.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.58 billion, a PE ratio of 41.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its 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 net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. Analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Mizuho initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 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.