Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 651 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lessened its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 651 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Newton One Investments LLC bought a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in PPL by 139.2% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,512 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were 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. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PPL. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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 boosted their target price on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.27.

PPL Stock Up 2.2 %

PPL opened at $35.23 on Friday. PPL Co. has a twelve month low of $25.87 and a twelve month high of $35.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $33.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.88. The company has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

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.