Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Grows Stake in S&P Global Inc. $SPGI

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in S&P Global Inc. by 9.2%, owning 35,229 shares valued at approximately $17.9 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• S&P Global reported earnings of $4.43 per share for its last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and showcasing a 5.8% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.96, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.7% and a current payout ratio of 29.54%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in S&P Global Inc. (NYSE:SPGI - Free Report) by 9.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,229 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,971 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in S&P Global were worth $17,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in S&P Global during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of S&P Global during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in S&P Global in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 87.17% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SPGI shares. UBS Group raised their price target on S&P Global from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on S&P Global from $632.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on S&P Global from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on S&P Global from $595.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on S&P Global from $604.00 to $621.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, S&P Global currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $611.69.

S&P Global Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of SPGI stock traded up $2.3520 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $553.5620. The company had a trading volume of 926,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,278,619. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $169.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $530.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $512.67. S&P Global Inc. has a 12 month low of $427.14 and a 12 month high of $579.05.

S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The business services provider reported $4.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.65 billion. S&P Global had a return on equity of 15.11% and a net margin of 27.30%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.04 EPS. S&P Global has set its FY 2025 guidance at 17.000-17.250 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that S&P Global Inc. will post 17.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

S&P Global Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 26th. S&P Global's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.54%.

S&P Global Company 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.