Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 109 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $1,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SPGI. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of S&P Global by 77.1% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on SPGI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on S&P Global from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.23.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI stock opened at $543.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $508.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $508.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.52 billion, a PE ratio of 47.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $407.69 and a 12-month high of $545.39.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.13%.

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.