PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by WealthShield Partners LLC

WealthShield Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,067 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 316 shares during the quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in PPL by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of PPL by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in PPL by 322.6% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,223,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,461,000 after acquiring an additional 933,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,668,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

PPL Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PPL opened at $34.82 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.78. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.87 and a twelve month high of $35.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. On average, research analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 transaction of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.