Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA Raises Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,659 shares during the period. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA’s holdings in PPL were worth $5,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,941 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in PPL by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in PPL by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in PPL by 91.3% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 1.4 %

PPL stock opened at $33.60 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.14 and its 200-day moving average is $31.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The company has a market cap of $24.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.82.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

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.