UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 5,899 Shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Spire Inc. (NYSE:SR) by 3.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 187,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,899 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Spire were worth $12,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SR. CWM LLC raised its stake in Spire by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Spire by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Spire by 197.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 162,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,850,000 after acquiring an additional 107,662 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Spire by 26.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Leeward Investments LLC MA grew its holdings in Spire by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 123,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,512,000 after buying an additional 6,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.36% of the company’s stock.

Spire Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of SR opened at $70.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.57. Spire Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.36 and a 1 year high of $73.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Spire Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a $3.14 dividend. This is a boost from Spire’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.76. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $12.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.84%. Spire’s payout ratio is 70.07%.

Insider Transactions at Spire

In related news, Director Paul D. Koonce bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $73.61 per share, for a total transaction of $73,610.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 2,425 shares in the company, valued at $178,504.25. This trade represents a 70.18 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.86% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Spire from $62.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Spire from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Spire from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Spire from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH downgraded Spire from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $65.50 to $60.50 in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.93.

Spire Company Profile

Spire Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the purchase, retail distribution, and sale of natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial, and other end-users of natural gas in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Gas Utility, Gas Marketing, and Midstream. It is also involved in the marketing of natural gas and related services; and transportation and storage of natural gas.