Berkeley Capital Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 780 shares during the quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $1,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of PPL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its holdings in PPL by 1,092.2% during the fourth 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. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 84.5% during the fourth 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. Newton One Investments LLC purchased a new position in PPL during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PPL by 69.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total transaction of $47,675.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,951.32. This represents a 11.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John R. Crockett III sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.12, for a total transaction of $52,627.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $359,186.40. The trade was a 12.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,140 shares of company stock valued at $173,005 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PPL Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of PPL opened at $35.01 on Thursday. PPL Co. has a 12-month low of $25.93 and a 12-month high of $35.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $33.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. Equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. PPL’s dividend payout ratio is 90.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of PPL in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. 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, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of PPL from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.70.

PPL Company 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.