Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 243 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $4,455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in S&P Global by 13.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,579,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,769,787,000 after buying an additional 881,215 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 8.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,658,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,067,807,000 after buying an additional 428,737 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 39.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,727,874 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,100,000 after buying an additional 1,056,097 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,112,935,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in S&P Global by 22.7% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,881,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,155,057,000 after acquiring an additional 533,417 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded up $2.31 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $411.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 625,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,312,174. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $131.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $338.92 and a 12 month high of $461.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $427.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $414.99.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.15 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 21.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.54 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.91 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 26th. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Raymond James raised their price target on S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $464.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,032,992.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.