Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $157.69 Million Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,766,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,317 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.65% of PPL worth $157,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 5,821,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $160,977,000 after purchasing an additional 2,778,820 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in PPL by 71.3% in the 2nd quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,306,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $119,061,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792,200 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in PPL by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 5,890,854 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $162,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189,339 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in PPL by 5,390.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 563,015 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,625,000 after purchasing an additional 552,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP boosted its position in PPL by 83.1% during the first quarter. Yaupon Capital Management LP now owns 1,139,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,373,000 after purchasing an additional 517,300 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.45 on Monday. The company 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 fifty day moving average price of $32.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.35 and a 52-week high of $35.00.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. PPL’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

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

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.