WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 291 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co cut its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $22,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in S&P Global by 52.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 658,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,632,000 after purchasing an additional 225,370 shares during the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 27,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 12.6% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,198,000 after buying an additional 3,093 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank grew its position in S&P Global by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,980,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,170,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $587.92.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI stock opened at $539.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $506.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $506.78. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The company has a market capitalization of $167.49 billion, a PE ratio of 47.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly 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 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 32.13%.

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.