PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) Shares Purchased by F M Investments LLC

F M Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 247,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,847 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $8,040,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in PPL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in 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 holdings in shares of PPL by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. 76.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PPL Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of PPL stock opened at $34.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $25.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.65. PPL Co. has a 52-week low of $25.93 and a 52-week high of $36.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.46. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.03). PPL had a return on equity of 8.88% and a net margin of 10.49%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that PPL Co. will post 1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on PPL from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their target price 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 upgraded PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $359,186.40. This trade represents a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christine M. Martin sold 1,146 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.78, for a total transaction of $39,857.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 37,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,292,668.26. This represents a 2.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,140 shares of company stock worth $173,005. 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.