Alliancebernstein L.P. Lowers Position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its stake in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,583,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 591,886 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in PPL were worth $246,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in PPL during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of PPL by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other PPL news, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was 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 approximately $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of PPL 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 completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PPL Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PPL opened at $36.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 29.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.33. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.93 and a 52 week high of $36.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last posted 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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Citigroup raised PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Four research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.27.

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.