PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2,647.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 155,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 149,442 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $4,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of PPL by 179.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the period. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, March 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays increased their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.27.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $28.52 on Thursday. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $22.20 and a 52 week high of $28.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.51.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.39 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 8.80%. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 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.