Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 382,792 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Natixis Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 38.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 619,977 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 382,792 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of PPL worth $17,142,000 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. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth about $570,789,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter worth $115,605,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $108,799,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 3,980,626 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 239.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,128,744 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $84,789,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208,081 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $32.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.80 and its 200 day moving average is $28.42. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $22.20 and a 1 year high of $32.42.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. PPL’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PPL. Bank of America upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com raised PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.18.

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.