Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $215.43 Million Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in PPL were worth $215,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PPL. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,209,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 26,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $34.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.43 earnings per share. Sell-side 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 Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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