Golden State Equity Partners Has $277,000 Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 107.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,526 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,420 shares during the quarter. Golden State Equity Partners’ holdings in PPL were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL by 195.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 5,759.3% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Four 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 an average target price of $34.00.

PPL Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $33.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. 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 1 year low of $25.35 and a 1 year high of $35.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $32.93 and its 200-day moving average is $32.27.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.43 EPS. Equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 91.96%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.