S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) Shares Sold by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 218 shares during the quarter. S&P Global accounts for 2.2% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $13,967,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in S&P Global by 103.4% in the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 59 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Pacific Financial lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 49.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on SPGI. Oppenheimer upped their price target on S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America increased their target price on S&P Global from $530.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on S&P Global from $500.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $548.18.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE:SPGI opened at $512.72 on Monday. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $528.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.43 billion, a PE ratio of 57.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $502.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $458.44.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 25.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 26th will be given a dividend of $0.91 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 26th. This represents a $3.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.81%.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In related news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,496,816.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other S&P Global news, EVP Steven J. Kemps sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $1,327,185.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,455 shares in the company, valued at $715,205.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total value of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

S&P Global Profile

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.