Stevens Capital Management LP Sells 1,222 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Stevens Capital Management LP trimmed its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,222 shares during the quarter. S&P Global accounts for 0.7% of Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 270,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $134,556,000 after acquiring an additional 16,761 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its stake in S&P Global by 126.2% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 1,617 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 902 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,472,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,000. Finally, Plancorp LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 635 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Price Performance

SPGI stock opened at $497.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $153.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.29, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $407.69 and a 12-month high of $545.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $513.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $510.42.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released 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 period last year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. On average, analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 31.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SPGI. Mizuho began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $590.86.

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.