Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 122 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. S&P Global makes up 2.4% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $16,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in S&P Global in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in shares of S&P Global during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the second quarter worth about $31,000. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of S&P Global stock opened at $520.34 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $509.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $483.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.46 billion, a PE ratio of 45.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.18. S&P Global Inc. has a 52-week low of $407.69 and a 52-week high of $533.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $3.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.64 by $0.25. S&P Global had a net margin of 25.80% and a return on equity of 13.72%. The company had revenue of $3.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 11th. Investors 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 0.70%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.13%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on S&P Global from $600.00 to $585.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on S&P Global from $564.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of S&P Global from $589.00 to $564.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $571.31.

S&P Global Company 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.