Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 112,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,490 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Spire were worth $6,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Spire in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Spire by 26.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Spire in the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Spire from $64.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Spire from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.50.

Spire Price Performance

Shares of SR stock opened at $66.91 on Wednesday. Spire Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.77 and a twelve month high of $68.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.52.

Spire (NYSE:SR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.18) by $0.04. Spire had a net margin of 9.40% and a return on equity of 8.10%. The business had revenue of $414.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $313.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.42) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Spire Inc. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Spire Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a $0.755 dividend. This represents a $3.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 11th. Spire’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of Spire stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total value of $32,410.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $473,899.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Maria V. Fogarty sold 6,590 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.15, for a total transaction of $429,338.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $638,470. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Gerard J. Gorla sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.82, for a total transaction of $32,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,311 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $473,899.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.86% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Spire

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.