Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $276.65 Million Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. reduced its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 555,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,908 shares during the period. S&P Global accounts for approximately 1.9% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned approximately 0.18% of S&P Global worth $276,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SPGI. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in S&P Global by 52.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in S&P Global by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in S&P Global by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,980,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 37,746 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $18,799,000 after buying an additional 6,051 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at about $27,170,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $502.33 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $515.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $510.21. 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 twelve month low of $407.69 and a twelve month high of $545.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.65 billion, a PE ratio of 40.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.13 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPGI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, S&P Global currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.86.

S&P Global Company 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.