Soroban Capital Partners LP Has $63.20 Million Stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Soroban Capital Partners LP lessened its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,946,950 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 151,000 shares during the quarter. PPL accounts for approximately 0.8% of Soroban Capital Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Soroban Capital Partners LP owned 0.26% of PPL worth $63,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in PPL by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in PPL by 47.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 5,784 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth $648,000. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its position in PPL by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $578,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 27,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 4,224 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of PPL from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $36.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $34.35. The stock had a trading volume of 7,285,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,952,443. The company has a market capitalization of $25.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $35.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.07. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.24 and a fifty-two week high of $36.70.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. PPL's payout ratio is 80.74%.

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.