PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by First Bank & Trust

First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,726 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in PPL by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 28,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 428 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of PPL by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 89,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,917,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 15,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of PPL by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 12,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC boosted its holdings in PPL by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 29,940 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 3,362 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PPL. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Friday, October 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $37.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $34.00.

PPL Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPL opened at $34.38 on Thursday. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.87 and a 52-week high of $35.15. The stock has a market cap of $25.38 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $32.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business 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%. Research analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total transaction of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.