Ruggaard & Associates LLC Lowers Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Ruggaard & Associates LLC cut its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 475 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 67 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 94.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 700.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $451.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.56, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $513.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $509.23. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $545.39.

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, topping 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 business earned $3.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SPGI. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $590.86.

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.