Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 23,117 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 306,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 23,117 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in PPL were worth $9,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PPL during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC bought a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PPL shares. Citigroup upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, 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 price target on the stock. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $35.27.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $36.18 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a PEG 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 12-month low of $25.93 and a 12-month high of $36.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $34.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.37.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued 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 business 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 predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 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.