Covington Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 195 Shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI)

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. S&P Global accounts for 1.4% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $15,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter worth $1,725,084,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in S&P Global during the 4th quarter valued at $527,207,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 71,024.1% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 619,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,525,000 after acquiring an additional 618,620 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth $144,091,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,868,375 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,581,580,000 after buying an additional 292,436 shares during the period. 87.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

S&P Global Stock Performance

NYSE SPGI opened at $508.95 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $515.19 and a 200-day moving average of $510.30. S&P Global Inc. has a 1-year low of $407.69 and a 1-year high of $545.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $156.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.21, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.36. S&P Global had a net margin of 27.12% and a return on equity of 14.33%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a boost from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 31.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on SPGI shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho initiated coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of S&P Global from $590.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup began coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded S&P Global from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $590.86.

About S&P Global

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.