Icon Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 16,069 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 61.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,069 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 4.9% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its position in PPL by 40.0% during the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 10,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in PPL by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 128,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,262,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 162,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,361,000 after buying an additional 8,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of PPL by 109.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 121,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,004,000 after buying an additional 63,218 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $34.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $33.00 and a 200 day moving average of $30.86. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.35 and a 52 week high of $35.15.

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

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PPL. Bank of America increased their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

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.