PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Slocum Gordon & Co LLP

Slocum Gordon & Co LLP reduced its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,755 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,549 shares during the period. PPL makes up approximately 3.7% of Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Slocum Gordon & Co LLP’s holdings in PPL were worth $4,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $570,789,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $115,605,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $108,799,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 437.5% in the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $132,530,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 239.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,128,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,208,081 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $32.26 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $29.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.44. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $32.54. The firm has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.18.

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.