Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Sells 1,273 Shares of S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,273 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in S&P Global were worth $7,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in S&P Global by 225.8% during the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 101 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in S&P Global by 35.8% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 8.6% in the third quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 884 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Compass Financial Management LLC raised its position in S&P Global by 31.5% in the third quarter. Compass Financial Management LLC now owns 192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, American Assets Inc. purchased a new position in S&P Global in the third quarter valued at about $473,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company’s stock.

S&P Global Stock Performance

Shares of SPGI opened at $481.40 on Thursday. S&P Global Inc. has a 12-month low of $381.61 and a 12-month high of $552.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $139.56 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $424.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $430.59.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $3.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. S&P Global had a net margin of 32.21% and a return on equity of 19.46%. S&P Global’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.73 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be paid a $0.97 dividend. This represents a $3.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th. S&P Global’s payout ratio is currently 23.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on SPGI. Mizuho reduced their price objective on S&P Global from $554.00 to $531.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on S&P Global from $553.00 to $572.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on S&P Global from $525.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $513.00 price target on S&P Global in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of S&P Global from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $523.35.

About S&P Global

S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI) is a global provider of financial information, analytics, benchmarks and credit ratings. Its services are used by investors, corporations, governments and other organizations to evaluate risk, assess markets, support investment decisions and manage business operations.

The company operates through businesses including S&P Global Ratings, which provides credit ratings and related research; S&P Global Market Intelligence, which delivers data, research and analytics on companies, markets and industries; and S&P Global Commodity Insights, which supplies information and analysis for energy and commodity markets.