Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 1,551 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,884 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,551 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $26,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 3.2% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,753,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,957 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management purchased a new position in S&P Global in the third quarter worth about $200,000. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 2.2% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 11,102 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,736,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.3 %

S&P Global stock opened at $462.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $407.69 and a 12-month high of $545.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $499.33 and a 200 day moving average of $504.47.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS 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 prior year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. As a group, 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 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPGI has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on S&P Global from $618.00 to $565.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $633.00 to $607.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.86.

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.