Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 450,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 33,802 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $14,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 36,788 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 11,089 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in PPL by 5.0% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,931 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of PPL by 109.3% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 121,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,004,000 after purchasing an additional 63,218 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of PPL by 5.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 162,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,361,000 after purchasing an additional 8,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of PPL by 3.0% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 128,853 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total value of $39,857.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares in the company, valued at $1,292,668.26. The trade was a 2.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 2.1 %

PPL stock opened at $35.70 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.23 and its 200 day moving average is $33.30. The stock has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. 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 1-year low of $25.93 and a 1-year high of $35.97.

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

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 3.05%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

PPL Profile

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.