PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 12.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,737 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 11.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 16,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of PPL by 32.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 41,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 10,043 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 85.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after purchasing an additional 51,366 shares in the last quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the third quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of PPL by 82.1% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 402,845 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,326,000 after buying an additional 181,627 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.09.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total transaction of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $32.29 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $23.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.82. PPL Co. has a 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.