Everence Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,490 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $5,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SPGI. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in S&P Global during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in S&P Global by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 75 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in S&P Global by 45.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 86 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

S&P Global stock traded down $1.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $408.56. 1,049,991 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,313,669. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $427.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $414.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $130.85 billion, a PE ratio of 49.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.15. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $338.92 and a one year high of $461.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The business services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by ($0.02). S&P Global had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 21.02%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.02 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 27th were paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 26th. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 44.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on SPGI shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lifted their target price on S&P Global from $422.00 to $452.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on S&P Global from $480.00 to $483.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $464.22.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,032,992.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Company Profile

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.