Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 3,417 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 11,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,417 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in PPL during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 46.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in PPL in the first quarter valued at about $42,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.18.

PPL Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.11. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $32.54.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.