Swiss National Bank Sells 65,800 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,304,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 65,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.31% of PPL worth $62,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in PPL by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 171,908 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 9,905 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,412,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in PPL by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,390,818 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $339,048,000 after purchasing an additional 1,695,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in PPL by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,498,429 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,303,000 after purchasing an additional 178,898 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

NYSE:PPL remained flat at $28.09 during trading hours on Monday. 5,003,207 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,982,116. The company has a market cap of $20.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.81. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $22.20 and a 12-month high of $28.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.02 and a 200-day moving average of $26.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 8th. TheStreet downgraded shares of PPL from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of PPL from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of PPL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.27.

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.