Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Lowers Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 29.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,093,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 883,335 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of PPL worth $56,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in PPL by 179.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho increased their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.45.

PPL Stock Performance

PPL stock opened at $28.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.08. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $29.89. The company has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $28.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.22.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

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.