Howland Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Howland Capital Management LLC decreased its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 105,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 655 shares during the period. S&P Global accounts for 2.3% of Howland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $52,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings 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 worth $328,632,000 after buying an additional 225,370 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 7.0% during the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 27,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,134,000 after buying an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,198,000 after buying an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted 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 period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter worth $27,170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $519.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $505.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $505.54. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $407.69 and a 1 year high of $533.29. The company has a market cap of $161.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.81, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on SPGI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on S&P Global from $564.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on S&P Global from $570.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $584.54.

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.