E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,821 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 71,024.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,525,000 after acquiring an additional 618,620 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,976,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,081,830,000 after acquiring an additional 369,598 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $144,091,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SPGI shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.23.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI stock opened at $497.35 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $515.06 and its 200 day moving average is $511.49. The firm has a market cap of $153.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

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

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

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.