Independence Bank of Kentucky Grows Stock Holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SPGI. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in S&P Global in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. First Pacific Financial boosted its position in shares of S&P Global by 49.0% in the second quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 73 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

SPGI traded up $1.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $500.59. 679,849 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,240,709. The stock has a market cap of $156.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $443.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.92. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $340.49 and a 12 month high of $502.95.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The business services provider reported $4.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.67 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.03% and a return on equity of 13.03%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. Analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a $0.91 dividend. This represents a $3.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is 40.81%.

Insider Transactions at S&P Global

In other S&P Global news, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of S&P Global stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total transaction of $3,687,567.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,618,662.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Edouard Tavernier sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $491.55, for a total transaction of $245,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,496,816.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert P. Kelly sold 7,662 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.28, for a total transaction of $3,687,567.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at $7,618,662.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,862 shares of company stock worth $8,645,727. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on SPGI shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $486.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $500.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded S&P Global to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on S&P Global from $550.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on S&P Global from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, S&P Global presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $530.75.

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.