Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC decreased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 383 shares during the quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $570,789,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,396,322 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $281,740,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,852 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 8,952,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,616,000 after acquiring an additional 340,686 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of PPL by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,678,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $180,992,000 after acquiring an additional 18,822 shares during the period. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 437.5% in the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,890,402 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,530,000 after acquiring an additional 3,980,626 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded up $0.38 during trading on Monday, hitting $29.00. 3,606,374 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,835,336. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.41. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $22.20 and a 52-week high of $29.89. The company has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

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

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of PPL from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of PPL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of PPL from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.36.

PPL 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.