Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 145,217 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lowered its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 694,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 145,217 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $346,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 658,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,632,000 after buying an additional 225,370 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Eastern Bank boosted its stake in S&P Global by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 37,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,799,000 after acquiring an additional 6,051 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,170,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on 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 boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.86.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $507.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $515.11 and a 200 day moving average of $510.31. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (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 last year, the firm earned $3.13 earnings per share. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 31.09%.

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.