Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 15,222 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 201,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,222 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $6,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 25.3% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in PPL by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $119,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,228,776 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,808,000 after purchasing an additional 104,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of PPL by 8.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,571,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,098,000 after buying an additional 202,296 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PPL. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on 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 began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

PPL Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $33.23 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $33.60. The stock has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.67, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $32.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.36. 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 posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

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.