Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Buys 7,921 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 81,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,921 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,789,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $242,616,000 after purchasing an additional 340,686 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 437.5% during the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,530,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980,626 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 50.3% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $129,433,000 after buying an additional 1,572,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth about $115,605,000. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75.

PPL Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $32.46 on Friday. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $22.20 and a twelve month high of $32.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market cap of $23.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.17%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

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.