Plan Group Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Plan Group Financial LLC increased its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,362 shares during the quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of PPL by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PPL by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $566,275,000 after acquiring an additional 201,417 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted 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 period. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $32.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.66. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.87 and a one year high of $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $25.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. Equities analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PPL. Citigroup lifted their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets started 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. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.