Raymond James Trust N.A. Raises Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in PPL were worth $813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in PPL by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in PPL by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,882,000 after buying an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in PPL by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after buying an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in PPL by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,766,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,689,000 after buying an additional 35,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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 company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.45 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $35.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.68.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.97%.

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.