PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Acquired by Spirit of America Management Corp NY

Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 53,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 195.5% in 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 purchased a new position in PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in PPL in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in PPL by 139.2% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. The trade was a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. The trade was a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,794 shares of company stock worth $661,338 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on PPL. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

PPL Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PPL opened at $33.66 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.30. The stock has a market cap of $24.84 billion, a PE ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $35.15. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.2575 per share. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 91.97%.

PPL Company 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.