Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 188,160 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $57,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $115,605,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of PPL by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 10,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of PPL by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 561,042 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,204,000 after buying an additional 10,376 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of PPL by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,333,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,242,000 after buying an additional 85,983 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PPL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.36.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $32.15 on Thursday. 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 $32.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.74 and its 200 day moving average is $28.82. The firm has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.82.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. 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.