Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $3.67 Million Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 16.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,576 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $3,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 16.5% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 44,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 7.9% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 38,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 2,843 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its position in PPL by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 198,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,455,000 after purchasing an additional 4,504 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the 1st quarter worth $83,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in PPL by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 47,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after buying an additional 7,315 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at PPL

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

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $35.00 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.79. 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 company has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $35.14.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.43 EPS. Analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.96%.

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.