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

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. S&P Global makes up 1.4% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $15,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its stake in S&P Global by 3.2% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 911 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of S&P Global by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 591 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of S&P Global by 471.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 217 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of S&P Global by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 6,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,368,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in S&P Global in the third quarter worth $2,520,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SPGI opened at $508.95 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $515.19 and a 200-day moving average of $510.30. The stock has a market cap of $156.66 billion, a PE ratio of 41.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.20. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $407.69 and a 12-month high of $545.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $3.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $3.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current year.

S&P Global Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This is a positive change from S&P Global’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. S&P Global’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SPGI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of S&P Global from $599.00 to $608.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup began coverage on S&P Global in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on S&P Global from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho started coverage on S&P Global in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $599.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on S&P Global from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, S&P Global 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.