Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 3,972 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,972 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in PPL by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 69,695 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 5,917 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance lifted its position in shares of PPL by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 19,792 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 23,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $627,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth $1,209,000. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PPL Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $26.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $26.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.11. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $29.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.45% and a net margin of 8.90%. PPL’s quarterly revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 103.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on PPL from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Argus upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.50.

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.