Stolper Co Purchases 720 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Stolper Co raised its position in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the period. Stolper Co’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PPL. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in PPL by 195.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 516 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter worth $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in PPL by 5,759.3% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,582 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 1,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Up 0.3 %

PPL stock opened at $32.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.07. PPL Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.35 and a fifty-two week high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42. PPL had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a $0.2575 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. PPL’s payout ratio is 91.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on PPL in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.35, for a total value of $314,680.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $427,107.90. The trade was a 42.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.