Assetmark Inc. Buys 5,800 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in PPL by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 884,838 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,590,000 after purchasing an additional 46,552 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in PPL by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,513 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572,771 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,153,000 after acquiring an additional 188,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagefield Capital LP increased its stake in shares of PPL by 70.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sagefield Capital LP now owns 138,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,839,000 after acquiring an additional 57,569 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $33.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.67, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.35 and a 52-week high of $33.60.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The firm 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

PPL 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.