PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Bought by Boston Partners

Boston Partners lifted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 8,266.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,518,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,404,382 shares during the period. Boston Partners owned 1.29% of PPL worth $309,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PPL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $3,834,000 after buying an additional 51,366 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in PPL by 2.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake 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. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth $1,218,000. Finally, Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC grew its stake in PPL by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 1,997,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,842,000 after purchasing an additional 124,275 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $35.19 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.12. The stock has a market cap of $25.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.86. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. On average, analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPL has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of PPL stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL 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.