Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 7,862 Shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 89,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PPL by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 34,758,947 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,115,824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,731,412 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in PPL by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,089,490 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,760,000 after buying an additional 2,050,122 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in PPL by 5.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,459,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,363,000 after buying an additional 1,720,941 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in PPL by 322.6% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,223,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,461,000 after acquiring an additional 933,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of PPL during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,668,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

PPL Trading Up 0.3 %

PPL opened at $34.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $25.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.77, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.06 and a 200-day moving average of $32.78. PPL Co. has a 52 week low of $25.87 and a 52 week high of $35.15. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. PPL had a net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. Equities research analysts predict that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.2725 per share. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PPL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of PPL from $34.00 to $33.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.00.

Insider Transactions at PPL

In other PPL news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares in the company, valued at $376,951.32. This trade represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,633 shares of company stock valued at $346,657 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.