Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 12,609 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,609 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in shares of PPL by 5.6% during the first 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. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in PPL by 7.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 866,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,848,000 after acquiring an additional 60,589 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in PPL by 8.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,719,000 after acquiring an additional 39,513 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 50.3% in the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,572,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 10.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,153,000 after purchasing an additional 188,160 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.40.

PPL Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.56 on Friday. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $24.24 and a twelve month high of $33.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.82. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $32.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.97.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.35%.

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.