PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lifted its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,681 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 483 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of PPL by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,019,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $66,792,000 after purchasing an additional 173,980 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in PPL by 2.6% during the third 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 grew its position 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 buying an additional 13,659 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC increased 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 valued at $3,443,000 after buying an additional 7,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL opened at $32.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $33.11 and its 200-day moving average is $31.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.35 and a 52-week high of $35.15.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.96%.

About PPL

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.