S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Maple Capital Management Inc.

Maple Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 42,301 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. S&P Global accounts for approximately 1.6% of Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $21,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in S&P Global by 3.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,581,580,000 after acquiring an additional 292,436 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of S&P Global by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,473,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,332,016,000 after purchasing an additional 113,146 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in S&P Global by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,965,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,081,830,000 after buying an additional 369,598 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,713,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,401,909,000 after buying an additional 28,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in S&P Global by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,936,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,000,536,000 after buying an additional 26,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $534.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $164.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $407.69 and a fifty-two week high of $545.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $513.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $510.67.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $3.13 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SPGI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.23.

About S&P Global

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.