Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 27,827 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,621,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,827 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $52,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PPL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 85.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,834,000 after buying an additional 51,366 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 2.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after acquiring an additional 96,491 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of PPL by 0.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after acquiring an additional 55,594 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth about $916,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on PPL shares. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.2 %

PPL stock opened at $34.21 on Tuesday. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $35.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.84 and a 200 day moving average of $32.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

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.