Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Lowers Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lowered its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 333 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in S&P Global were worth $166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SPGI. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of S&P Global by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.4 %

S&P Global stock opened at $533.05 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $510.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $509.03. The stock has a market cap of $164.07 billion, a PE ratio of 43.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-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.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued 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 return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 29.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SPGI. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group increased their target price on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.23.

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.