Mather Group LLC. Grows Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Mather Group LLC. raised its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 17.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,074 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in PPL were worth $387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 179.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Bank of America raised their price target on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.64.

PPL Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of PPL stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $30.23. The stock had a trading volume of 7,274,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,918,336. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $31.45. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.60. 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 capitalization of $22.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

PPL Profile

PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. It 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 power plants in Kentucky.