Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 35,317 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,766,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,317 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $157,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PPL by 66.6% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 28,009 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 11,199 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 13,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $379,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the first quarter worth $741,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL in the first quarter worth $201,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of PPL by 16.5% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 44,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,331 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on PPL from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.50.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $34.45 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.68.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

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.