Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 117,323 Shares of Preformed Line Products Company $PLPC

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Preformed Line Products Company by 172.8% in Q1, now owning approximately 3.75% of the company valued at around $25.9 million.
• Preformed Line Products was recently upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased analyst confidence in the company's prospects.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, representing a 0.4% yield, with a payout ratio of 9.35% as of the latest report.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Preformed Line Products Company (NASDAQ:PLPC - Free Report) by 172.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,201 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 117,323 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 3.75% of Preformed Line Products worth $25,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLPC. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in Preformed Line Products by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,409 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Preformed Line Products in the first quarter valued at approximately $308,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Preformed Line Products by 121.1% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,921 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Preformed Line Products by 30,720.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,082 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 3,072 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Preformed Line Products by 7.8% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 3,831 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. 41.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Preformed Line Products from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th.

Preformed Line Products Stock Performance

PLPC stock traded up $1.72 on Wednesday, reaching $189.64. 105,642 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 46,708. Preformed Line Products Company has a 12 month low of $109.01 and a 12 month high of $197.56. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $166.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $148.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $933.03 million, a PE ratio of 22.15 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a current ratio of 3.08 and a quick ratio of 1.83.

Preformed Line Products (NASDAQ:PLPC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $169.60 million for the quarter. Preformed Line Products had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 9.69%.

Preformed Line Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. Preformed Line Products's payout ratio is 9.35%.

Preformed Line Products Profile

Preformed Line Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs and manufactures products and systems that are used in the construction and maintenance of overhead, ground-mounted, and underground networks for the energy, telecommunication, cable, data communication, and other industries. The company offers optical ground wire products to support, protect, terminate, and splice transmission and distribution lines, as well as bolted, welded, and compressed connectors for substations; and string hardware products, polymer insulators, wildlife protection, substation fittings, and motion control devices.