Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 20,524 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 13.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 130,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,524 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of PPL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on 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 increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.75.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $32.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.63, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.82. 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 fifty-two week low of $22.20 and a fifty-two week high of $33.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.08 and a 200 day moving average of $28.99.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid 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 3.16%. PPL’s payout ratio is 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.