PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by Argyle Capital Management LLC

Argyle Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 71,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $2,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PPL by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 251,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,172,000 after purchasing an additional 33,131 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter worth $4,631,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 210,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,844,000 after buying an additional 9,264 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PPL by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 99,214 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,220,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its stake in PPL by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 33,186 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,077,000 after buying an additional 5,834 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PPL

In related news, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $32,843.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 45,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This trade represents a 2.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $360,513.60. This trade represents a 37.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,633 shares of company stock worth $346,657. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PPL. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of PPL from $31.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on PPL in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on PPL from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.27.

PPL Price Performance

PPL opened at $34.53 on Friday. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.87 and a 12-month 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.54, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.23 and a 200-day moving average of $32.84.

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). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Equities analysts forecast that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. PPL’s payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

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.