Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 9,500 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 178,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,500 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in PPL were worth $4,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in PPL by 179.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new position in PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its stake in PPL by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE PPL opened at $28.09 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.27, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 1-year low of $22.20 and a 1-year high of $28.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $27.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.45.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.80% and a net margin of 9.29%. PPL’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PPL shares. Barclays increased their target price on PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Argus upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of PPL from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.27.

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.