APG Asset Management N.V. Lowers Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

APG Asset Management N.V. reduced its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 509,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 143,260 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in PPL were worth $13,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at $38,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in PPL in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.75.

PPL Trading Up 0.9 %

PPL stock opened at $32.88 on Friday. PPL Co. has a one year low of $22.20 and a one year high of $33.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.09. The company has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.