Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Buys 173,980 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. boosted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,019,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 173,980 shares during the period. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.27% of PPL worth $66,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 288,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,558,000 after buying an additional 7,315 shares in the last quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its stake in PPL by 9.2% during the third quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 161,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,345,000 after acquiring an additional 13,659 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 8.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 104,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,443,000 after purchasing an additional 7,860 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in PPL by 10.7% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at about $1,847,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.60 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.14 and a 200-day moving average of $31.03. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.15. The company has a market cap of $24.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

PPL Company 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.