Voya Financial Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Voya Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,993 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Voya Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $328,632,000 after acquiring an additional 225,370 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in S&P Global by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 37,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,799,000 after purchasing an additional 6,051 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,170,000. Finally, American Trust grew its position in shares of S&P Global by 76.2% during the third quarter. American Trust now owns 2,518 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

S&P Global stock opened at $481.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $493.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $503.36. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $407.69 and a 12 month high of $545.39. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a PE ratio of 38.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.26.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. Equities analysts predict that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPGI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on S&P Global from $633.00 to $607.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Mizuho assumed coverage on S&P Global in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.86.

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.