PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 46.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 69,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,104 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its position in PPL by 1.7% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in PPL by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of PPL by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 78,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 37,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PPL Trading Up 0.0 %

PPL stock opened at $34.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $34.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.22. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.73, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

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.