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

Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the quarter. Cobblestone Capital Advisors LLC NY’s holdings in PPL were worth $491,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redwood Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new position in PPL in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.93 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $25.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.88. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $35.15.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,107.90. This represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.