J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 197 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 30.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 449 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in S&P Global in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its position in S&P Global by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 62 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 70 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 700.0% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 72 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:SPGI opened at $533.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a one year low of $407.69 and a one year high of $545.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $510.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $509.03.

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 14.33% and a net margin of 27.12%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is 29.47%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on SPGI. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup began coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on S&P Global from $617.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $590.23.

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.