Clearbridge Investments LLC Lowers Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,330,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 118,114 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.43% of S&P Global worth $662,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in S&P Global by 94.4% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 700.0% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $502.33 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 fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $515.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $510.14. The company has a market capitalization of $157.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.67, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results 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 period last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.86.

S&P Global Company 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.