PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,631 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in PPL by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 91.3% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after buying an additional 2,778,820 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 71.3% during the second quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after buying an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in PPL by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,808,000 after buying an additional 104,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in PPL by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,571,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,098,000 after acquiring an additional 202,296 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $33.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $33.75.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.