GC Wealth Management RIA LLC Has $445,000 Stock Holdings in PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL)

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC decreased its stake in shares of PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 344 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in PPL were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of PPL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in PPL during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of PPL by 1,092.2% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Finally, Newton One Investments LLC acquired a new stake in PPL in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PPL news, SVP Tadd J. Henninger sold 6,639 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.16, for a total value of $213,510.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 11,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $360,513.60. The trade was a 37.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO David J. Bonenberger sold 981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.48, for a total value of $32,843.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,414 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,520,460.72. This represents a 2.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,779 shares of company stock valued at $386,515. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

PPL Price Performance

PPL stock opened at $34.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.57 and its 200 day moving average is $33.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.71. PPL Co. has a one year low of $25.93 and a one year high of $35.91.

PPL (NYSE:PPL) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 10.49% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The company had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that PPL Co. will post 1.83 EPS for the current year.

PPL Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.2725 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. This is a boost from PPL’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. PPL’s payout ratio is currently 90.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on PPL shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on PPL from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on 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 initiated coverage on PPL in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $36.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on PPL from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, PPL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.