Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Decreases Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,291 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 7,312 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in S&P Global were worth $66,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake in S&P Global by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 37,746 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $18,799,000 after purchasing an additional 6,051 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at $14,040,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in S&P Global by 110.8% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 23,868 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $12,066,000 after purchasing an additional 12,547 shares during the last quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP now owns 217,029 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $108,173,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 11,499 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,727,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE SPGI traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $514.61. 308,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,218,394. S&P Global Inc. has a 1 year low of $419.49 and a 1 year high of $545.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $491.60 and a 200 day moving average of $503.77. The stock has a market cap of $157.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.23. 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 (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.23 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. The firm's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.16%.

Insider Activity at S&P Global

In related news, EVP Sally Moore sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.43, for a total transaction of $255,215.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,131 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,016.33. The trade was a 8.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on SPGI. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on S&P Global from $576.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Mizuho began coverage on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $599.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $629.00 to $603.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of S&P Global from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $592.71.

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.