Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 1,201 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,201 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $8,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SPGI. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of S&P Global by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 49,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,648,000 after buying an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $18,817,000. Evoke Wealth LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 4,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,181,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 6,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,378,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in S&P Global by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,887 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,402,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.8 %

SPGI opened at $490.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $513.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $510.73. The company has a market capitalization of $150.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.70, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $3.13 EPS. Analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SPGI. StockNews.com cut S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.