Independent Advisor Alliance Has $812,000 Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 19.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,091 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in PPL were worth $812,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 8.7% in the second quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,513 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after buying an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PPL by 10.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,067,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,153,000 after acquiring an additional 188,160 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in PPL by 0.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in PPL by 30.5% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 67,393 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 15,761 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

PPL opened at $35.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.35 and a one year high of $35.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.94%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PPL. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.50.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.