PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 780,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,339 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in PPL were worth $25,324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in PPL by 85.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 111,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after buying an additional 51,366 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 96,491 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in PPL by 0.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PPL in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,218,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the 3rd quarter valued at about $916,000. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $34.82 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $25.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. PPL Co. has a 12 month low of $25.87 and a 12 month high of $35.15.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

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.