Tower Wealth Partners Inc. Lowers Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Tower Wealth Partners Inc. reduced its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,381 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 966 shares during the quarter. PPL comprises about 0.6% of Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Tower Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PPL. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 84.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in PPL by 139.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.70.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:PPL opened at $34.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.93 and a twelve month high of $35.91. The company has a market cap of $25.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.01.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,779 shares of company stock worth $386,515 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently 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.