Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Has $7.70 Million Stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lowered its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 46.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,297 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $7,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 18.5% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,409 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of S&P Global by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning bought a new position in S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,644,000. Finally, Aspiriant LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the fourth quarter worth about $398,000. 87.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Douglas L. Peterson sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.74, for a total value of $2,548,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,032,992.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $429.21 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $422.49 and a 200-day moving average of $420.97. The stock has a market cap of $134.30 billion, a PE ratio of 48.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $340.49 and a 52-week high of $461.16.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The business services provider reported $4.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.68 by $0.33. S&P Global had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 22.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.39 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.1 EPS for the current year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 29th will be given a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 28th. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $442.00 to $446.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of S&P Global in a report on Friday, February 9th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $480.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven 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 $462.60.

About S&P Global

S&P Global Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. It operates through S&P Global Market Intelligence, S&P Global Ratings, S&P Global Commodity Insights, S&P Global Mobility, S&P Dow Jones Indices, and S&P Global Engineering Solutions segments.