PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE reduced its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL – Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, the company said in its latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,885 shares of the utility provider after selling 2,935 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s shares in PPL were worth $1,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth approximately $570,789,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,396,322 shares of the utility provider’s stock worth $281,740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,852 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in PPL by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utility provider’s stock worth $242,616,000 after acquiring an additional 340,686 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,678,680 shares of the utility provider’s stock worth $180,992,000 after acquiring an additional 18,822 shares during the period. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 437.5% in the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utility provider’s stock worth $132,530,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980,626 shares during the period. 76.99% of the shares are held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Stock Return

PPL shares opened Friday at $28.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $21.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.79, a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $29.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $28.40 and a 200-day moving average of $27.41.

PPL (NYSE:PPL – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 01. The utility provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the year-ago quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company reported $0.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect PPL Co. to report 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL announces dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.03 and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date for this dividend was Monday, June 10th. PPL’s ​​dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street analysts weigh in

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price objective of $32.36.

Read our latest analysis on PPL

Company profile PPL

(Free Report)

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from generating facilities in Kentucky.

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