Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Takes $215,000 Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 6,624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in PPL by 195.5% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in PPL in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in PPL by 5,759.3% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America boosted 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, 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 target price on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $33.66 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average is $32.91 and its 200 day moving average is $32.30.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 91.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock valued at $661,338 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About PPL

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.