Atria Investments Inc Has $2.23 Million Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,761 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 23.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 30,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 5,800 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in PPL by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 23,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. bought a new position in PPL in the third quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter valued at about $215,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 29.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $33.60.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. PPL’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.43 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays raised their target price on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

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.