PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Sold by HBK Sorce Advisory LLC

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC cut its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 29,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,748 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in PPL by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of PPL by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,160,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,050,122 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PPL by 12.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,115,824,000 after acquiring an additional 3,731,412 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in PPL by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,177,883 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,275,000 after purchasing an additional 201,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position 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 worth $215,430,000 after purchasing an additional 55,594 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total value of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PPL opened at $34.15 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.21 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.64 and a 200-day moving average of $33.06. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. On average, analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.2725 dividend. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.