Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY Raises Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY raised its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY’s holdings in PPL were worth $491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.50.

PPL Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.93 on Monday. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.35 and a 52-week high of $35.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $33.00 and a 200 day moving average of $30.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $25.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.81.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 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 firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors 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 yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.96%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.