Bill Few Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Bill Few Associates Inc. lessened its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,075 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in PPL were worth $393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 85.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 51,366 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in PPL by 2.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,260,426 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,935,000 after acquiring an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in PPL by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,430,000 after buying an additional 55,594 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $916,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Stock Performance

Shares of PPL stock opened at $32.65 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.99. The company has a market cap of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.35 and a 12-month high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.42. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 9.95%. PPL’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.72 EPS for the current year.

PPL Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 91.97%.

Insider Activity at PPL

In related news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % 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, insider John R. Crockett III sold 9,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,434 shares in the company, valued at $427,107.90. This trade represents a 42.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Bank of America upped their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.00.

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.