Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Increases Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 10.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 2.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,935,000 after purchasing an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,153,000 after acquiring an additional 188,160 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth $1,218,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of PPL by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PPL Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE PPL opened at $31.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.23. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 91.96%.

About PPL

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.