Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,089 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 18.4% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 47,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,315 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 231.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 200,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,523,000 after acquiring an additional 140,030 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 214.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 52,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after acquiring an additional 35,868 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 17.3% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 14,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 17.7% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.25 on Wednesday. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.94.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its 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. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. 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 report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.50.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.