Kentucky Trust Co Takes Position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 725 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in S&P Global by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 658,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $328,632,000 after purchasing an additional 225,370 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management boosted its position in S&P Global by 7.0% during the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 27,358 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in S&P Global by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 27,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,093 shares during the period. Eastern Bank boosted its position in S&P Global by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 50,157 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Finally, Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in S&P Global during the third quarter worth approximately $27,170,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Price Performance

Shares of SPGI stock opened at $540.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $505.68 and its 200-day moving average is $506.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.81 billion, a PE ratio of 47.73, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 52 week low of $407.69 and a 52 week high of $542.00.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a return on equity of 13.72% and a net margin of 25.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 15.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.13%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on SPGI shares. 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. Citigroup assumed coverage on S&P Global in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on S&P Global from $536.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on S&P Global from $570.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $584.54.

S&P Global Profile

S&P Global, Inc engages in the provision of transparent and independent ratings, benchmarks, analytics, and data to the capital and commodity markets worldwide. It operates through the following segments: Market Intelligence, Ratings, Commodity Insights, Mobility, Indices, and Engineering Solutions.