PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Tower Wealth Partners Inc.

Tower Wealth Partners Inc. lowered its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 924 shares during the quarter. PPL accounts for approximately 0.7% of Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Leelyn Smith LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the second quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 79,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,209,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 15.7% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 2,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of PPL by 3.4% in the second 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 period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in PPL by 3.1% in the third quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 12,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in PPL by 1.4% during the third 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

NYSE:PPL opened at $31.56 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $32.33 and a 200-day moving average of $30.01. The firm has a market cap of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $24.78 and a twelve month high of $33.38.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. 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, Morgan Stanley increased 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.40.

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.