Grove Bank & Trust Sells 606 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Grove Bank & Trust cut its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 22.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 606 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in PPL were worth $56,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 2,647.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,203,000 after purchasing an additional 149,442 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at about $505,000. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in PPL by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 14,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of PPL by 49.6% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE PPL traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $31.79. 4,449,738 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,917,173. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.16 and a 200-day moving average of $28.07. 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 one year low of $22.20 and a one year high of $31.82. The stock has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a PE ratio of 30.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. PPL’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on PPL from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.82.

About PPL

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.